The Best Gifts Aren't Bought
by Elizabeth Bathory
Summary: #72 for the Pepperony 100 LJ Challenge - The holidays can be a very dark time when you are alone but on this Christmas, Tony is shown that he is truly not alone. After New Year's, another gift is granted? Valentine's Day? His birthday? July 4? What next?
1. Christmas

The Best Gifts Aren't Bought

By Elizabeth Bathory

After two long days of working non-stop without sleep, then two back to back missions which took him over Hell on earth for three and a half days only to crash on the couch in his workshop for nearly thirty-six hours, it was no wonder that Tony Stark had not the first clue what day it was, never mind the time or time zone.

Tony groaned as he sat up on his couch and rubbed his eyes. Most of his body still hurt from taking out two rather large weapons depots in the Middle East and he hadn't totally bounced back yet. "Jarvis? What time is it?" he said through a yawn.

"It is 3:37 in the afternoon, sir," the AI dutifully responded. "I am glad to see that you have finally awakened. Ms. Potts was having me monitor your vitals to be sure you were still alive after you were out for eighteen hours. She also asked me to wish you a Merry Christmas."

"I may have slept like the dead but I was certainly not dead," Tony said with a snort before the second part registered in his head. "Did you just say Merry Christmas? What day is it?" he rasped out as a bit of panic started to slip into his voice."

"It is December twenty-fourth, sir…Christmas Eve." Jarvis responded.

Tony's stomach sank and his heart came into his throat. He had one damn tradition that he stuck to every year and he had missed it because he was over the Arabian Desert. "Jarvis, why the hell didn't you tell me when it was the twenty-first? You know damn well I have standing plans every year then." He growled.

"Considering you were some where over Pakistan at the time, there wasn't much that could be done. The mission was not expected to take as long as it did. My recordings back at the mansion picked up some distress from Ms. Potts on that date when you were not home."

Things were going from bad to worse. Tony knew he was shit with dates but Tony never forgot the anniversary of his parents' death. Since the first one, he never did not go to their gravesite for his own way of showing them how much he had loved them and still missed them. Missing the anniversary hurt almost as much as losing them all over again. Everyone who was close to him knew this, especially Pepper and Rhodey. He wanted to be angry at someone and find someone to blame for missing the anniversary but the only person he could blame was himself. "Is Pepper still here?" Tony asked with a harsh edge to his voice.

"Yes sir. She is working in the living room."

"Tell her I want to talk to her. I'll be right up." Tony ground out as he pulled his shirt on and headed up the stairs.

Pepper had been trying to finish the last of the messages that needed dealing with before the holiday break when Jarvis informed her that Mr. Stark had wished to speak with her. Tony never said anything like that at all. He just blurted out what was on his mind. He never told her that he needed to talk to her and this set up a lot of warnings in Pepper's mind. "Is something wrong, Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked cautiously as she saw Tony coming up from the stairs.

"Go home, Potts," Tony said sharply and without the humor that was usually in his voice.

"Excuse me? Did I do something wrong?"

"It's a damn holiday. Go home, Potts. I'm giving you the rest of the day off." Tony stated, still with that edge to his voice that most people did not mess with. He realized that as he was telling her to leave that he might be ruining any chance he has at getting her, but he is hurting to much to care. At this moment, he wanted desperately to be alone in the misery that was threatening to swallow him.

Pepper was now certain something was not right and she knew very well that it was not a good state to leave Tony in alone but it was the tone he was using which made her shut her laptop. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" she asked quietly but professionally.

"That will be all, Ms. Potts." Tony replied almost robotically before turning to head back down to the garage without even a glance back. He couldn't turn back because it hurt too much to do so and he did not want Pepper to see it. He had let his parents down in a sense by not being there for the anniversary but being Iron Man instead and because it was Christmas Eve and the woman he loved listened to him and left.

Pepper sighed deeply as she grabbed her bag. He asked her to leave but he never said for how long.

Once Tony had received word that Pepper had left the house, he opened up his liquor cabinet. The first thing he did was to pull out a bottle of Bowmore 40 Year Old single malt scotch and pour nearly a quarter of the bottle straight down his throat before grabbing a glass with some ice. There was only one way that Tony knew at the moment to deal with pain that ran this deep and that was to get drunk out of his skull as quickly as possible.

Tony took the bottle and the glass and headed back to the living room where he ordered Jarvis to kill the lights and start the fire. As he sat down on the couch with the double scotch in his hand, Tony remembered this was how he was used to spending Christmas – alone and in a semi-state of ever present grief and sadness as his memories assault him full force.

Three hours had gone by before Pepper got back to the mansion. She had gone back to her apartment to change into a sweatshirt and leggings and picked up a pizza for her and Tony to make sure he ate something and then headed back to the mansion to pick up the pieces of whatever may be left of her boss. When Jarvis let her in, the smell of alcohol quickly hit her nose and Pepper regretted for being gone for so long since it meant that Tony had hit the bottle and he hit it hard.

"I thought I told you to go home," Tony growled darkly from the fire lit living room as he took another sip from the glass in his hand.

"I did go home…to get changed. You didn't say that I had to stay there. I spend more of my time here than my apartment anyway." Pepper said as she set the pizza in the kitchen. "And I brought back dinner."

"I have already had dinner," Tony said smartly as he pointed to the half filled bottle of scotch on the table.

"That is not dinner, Tony." Pepper said as she set two slices of pizza down in front of Tony on a paper plate on the table and then sat down next to him on the couch.

Tony didn't look up when Pepper sat down next to him but he did put down his glass and pick up one of the slices of pizza. Sometimes scotch and pizza could compliment each other. "Why are you here anyway?" he asked in between bites but the hard edge was still there. "I told you to leave."

"I can't leave you alone like this," Pepper said gently.

"Ever think that I wanted to be left alone?" Tony snapped back quickly.

"Not when I can see the pain of loss in your eyes so very plainly." Pepper tells him gently but firmly as she places a hand on his. "I know it well and from seeing in my own eyes every time when I looked in a mirror when I thought I lost you." Then Pepper took a deep breath to focus herself because she knew very well she was in for a battle. "I am not leaving you right now no matter what."

"Then you are in for a very long night with very poor company," Tony said as he threw back his scotch with one swallow and refilled the glass.

"I wish you would talk to me. You haven't drank this much since you got back. Something has to be very wrong for you to this." Pepper commented.

Tony pulled his hand away from hers and got up from the couch, walking over to the window with his drink in his hand. He gazed out the window with his back to Pepper as he took another sip. "You know damn well what is bothering me. Why the hell do I have to say it?"

"Because for too long it has been bottled inside you because you feel you have to deal with this alone. Remember, we are each other has. I care about you too much to let you drown in sorrow and booze. I want you to talk to me, Tony." Pepper urged gently.

Tony sighed again before taking another sip of the scotch in his hand. He doesn't want to say it but his mouth wasn't taking orders from his brain any longer. His breaking heart had taken over.

"After my parents' funeral, I flew back to New York one more time because Christmas and Thanksgiving were always in New York because even thought it might not have always happened, my parents wanted me to have a chance to see snow that wasn't on the top of a ski slope." Tony started quietly as he continued to look out the window and away from Pepper. There was no way he wanted her to see the tears welling in his eyes that he was fighting desperately not to let fall.

"It was the first Christmas that the house had ever been silent. Every year for as long as I could remember, my mother had always thrown one of the biggest Christmas parties on Christmas Eve that you could imagine. She loved it because it was the only one where a benefit wasn't involved, just family and friends. The house was filled for hours, usually until one or two in the morning. Everyone was always so happy…drinking, eating, laughing, talking, kids running everywhere playing and sharing the holiday with each other.

"She had decorated the house for Christmas right after Thanksgiving and when they died, the party was quickly cancelled. No one thought I could handle throwing it alone and no one wanted it to be another somber memorial. So on Christmas Eve, I was alone in my parents' house with my butler and housekeeper. I couldn't bear the silence of the empty house that should have been filled with joy so I went to bed. My butler, Edwin, had put all the gifts under the tree. He thought he had just put mine out but there were ones for my parents as well."

Tony took another sip from his scotch as if he needed liquid courage to continue. His tears were slowly making tracks down his face which Pepper could see in his reflection of the glass of the window.

"When Christmas morning came, I really couldn't even care about the gifts. Edwin encouraged me to open them because that would have been what my parents wanted me to do. I did my best to try to be happy for what I got but I couldn't."

As the story progressed, it was getting harder and harder for Tony to continue talking. The tears he was fighting were making his voice catch and made him fight to choose the right words on how to say what he wanted to say. His shoulders were shaking as he tried desperately to hide it.

"I couldn't open theirs though…I never could…"

Pepper saw how much Tony was struggling with every word and it was breaking her heart to watch any longer. She got up off the couch and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder as she eased the glass from his fingers and set it down on the floor before bringing her hand tenderly to his cheek and easing his face around so he looked at her. "You don't have to be alone anymore. I am not going anywhere."

As soon as the words hit Tony's ears, he crumbled. He wrapped his arms around Pepper's waist as he buried his head in her neck and let the harsh sobs and torrent of tears he had been holding back fall freely.

Pepper held Tony close to her as she felt his sobs rip him to his core. Why did he feel he had to hold all of this back for so long until it was almost going to take him over? She didn't say anything. She just held him, supporting him when he needed it the most.

Neither one really knew how long they stayed like that but when Tony finally pulls back he's so emotionally drained he can barely move but he feels a little better, like the crack in his heart that was made by his parents' premature death healed just a bit.

When Pepper felt him move she took that as her cue and helped back to the couch to try to get him comfortable. He looked like he had just been run over and she could tell how much it had taken out of him. Tony needed to have someone take care of him now more than ever and that was something he was denied for a very long time. "Can I get you anything?"

"Maybe a slice of pizza," Tony said softly as he quickly scrubbed the last of the tears away from his face. "Jarvis? Can you throw a movie on for us?"

"What would you like to watch, sir?"

"How about _Lethal Weapon_?" Tony said as he made room for Pepper on the couch next to him and moved the blanket he had pulled around him so she could snuggle up next to him if she was so inclined to do.

"This isn't a very Christmassy movie, Tony," Pepper said with a small smile as she handed him a slice of pizza that she had warmed up for him and sat down, curling into his shoulder under the blanket with him.

"It's set during Christmas time. What more do you want? Red nosed reindeer? Rudolph can't blow shit up like Martin Riggs." Tony said in between bites as he relaxed a little as the movie started.

As the movie played, the emotional purging finally caught up with Tony fully and he started to nod off. When he stopped fighting it, Tony shifted a little bit so his head was resting on one of the arm cushions and it wasn't long before he was fast asleep. Pepper, who had made herself comfortable against Tony's shoulder, soon followed him into dream land when she felt his body relax into the limpness of sleep.

It was just past seven when Pepper awoke on Christmas morning. Despite the awkward position that she and Tony had managed to fall asleep in, she had slept relatively well. When Pepper noticed that tony was still quite soundly asleep, she moved as cautiously as she could in order not to wake him. The biggest obstacle was getting over his legs without knocking into him. Once she was clear of that, Pepper replaced the blanket around Tony to ward off the early morning chill.

Tony shifted only slightly when the blanket was moved but quickly snuggled back into it, snoring lightly as he fell back to deeper sleep, causing Pepper to smile as she watched him.

"Good morning, Ms. Potts. Merry Christmas." Jarvis stated.

"Good morning Jarvis and same to you." Pepper whispered as she pulled a bag that she had been hiding in her office for some time down to the living room. "Jarvis? Do you think you could come up with a Christmas tree? Gifts belong under the tree."

"I believe I have a holographic image of a Christmas tree in my memory. Where would you like it?"

"In the living room so Tony will see it when he wakes up." Pepper whispered.

By the time she had come back downstairs, a seven foot fully decorated and lit tree had appeared in the corner of the living room so realistic that she swore she smelled pine. She placed one small gift and one larger one under the tree and then went into the kitchen to start breakfast for her and Tony.

As quietly as she could, Pepper rummaged through Tony's kitchen to see what she could make with what he had on hand. She luckily managed to find Bisquick, mixed frozen berries, chocolate syrup and whipped cream and got an idea. Pepper knew very well what Tony's favorites were and what better to help bring up his spirits even more than pancakes with all his favorite toppings. She smiled to herself as she put on the coffee and got to work, letting the smell wake up Tony.

Tony stirred slowly on the couch as something hit his senses but he wasn't sure what. He cracked his eyes open to see a twinkling Christmas tree with two gifts underneath in his living room and to find the spot next to him empty. All night, he had felt Pepper sleeping on his shoulder and when he woke up she was gone. Was it all just a dream or was this some cruel twist on reality?

"Jarvis, who told you to put a tree up?" Tony asked through a yawn as his chest started to ache all over again.

"I did," Pepper interjected from the kitchen before Jarvis could answer. "I needed someplace to put your presents." She added as she stepped out with Tony's coffee mug in her hands.

Tony's eyes went wide with shock and relief when he heard Pepper's voice. He had honestly thought she had left and when his brain kicked in further, he caught the addictive aroma of coffee and something else that made his stomach growl. It was then that he remembered everything that had happened the night before, everything that Pepper did for him.

"Thank you," Tony said quietly as he bowed his head, not able to look at her out of embarrassment. He had poured his heart on the table the night before and now didn't know how to deal with it.

"What for?" Pepper asked gently as she came further into the living room.

How could he phrase this? Tony had so much to thank her for and he didn't think he could do it without losing it. "For everything," Tony whispered.

Just those few small words touched Pepper so deeply that she didn't know how to react. "Any time, Tony…any time," she told him with a smile as she pressed his coffee into his hands before going back into the kitchen to get the two plates of pancakes for them.

Tony's head lifted when he smelled what was coming in for him and a big smile lit up his face. Pancakes with fruit, chocolate syrup and whipped cream was his favorite breakfast and Pepper knew that as well as his mother did which took him off the hook of having to explain just why he is thankful for her and he appreciated that.

After being pleasantly filled up by breakfast, Tony leaned back on the couch with his second cup of coffee and started looking over at the tree. "Your tree is missing something, Pepper."

Pepper looked a little confused as she looked over at the tree. "Something is missing?" she asked quizzically.

Tony gave her a smirk and got up from the couch and went down to his workshop only to come up a few minutes later carrying a bright red and green gift bag. "It was missing this," he said as he handed her the bag.

Pepper cautiously opened the bag. Tony never remembered her birthday and he managed to get her a Christmas gift. This somewhat worried her. She opened the bag and pulled out a wind chime of sorts that was like eight spirals melded together with various small crystals that acted as prisms and balls of Venetian glass floating in between the metal. "Tony, this is beautiful. Where did you buy this?"

"I didn't buy it. I made it." Tony said proudly. "Not everything I do down in my workshop deals with cars and my suit." He added with a laugh. "The metal is gold titanium alloy and I picked up the crystals in New York."

"How about the glass balls? Where did you get them?"

"Venice," Tony said as simply as anything as Pepper seemed to stop breathing. "I made a stop over."

"Show off," Pepper chided him. "But thank you. It's beautiful." She said with a warm smile before grabbing the two gifts under the tree and handed them to Tony.

Tony eyed the two gifts, one significantly smaller than the other. As was tradition, he saved the larger one with the card for last and opened the smaller one. He revealed a video game and he smirked. "Hey Jarvis…you owe me a rematch. I still can't believe you beat me in Tetris."

"I still say I was within the parameters of the game." Jarvis insisted.

Then Tony went to the larger box. It was his parents' tradition to put the card on the most special of the gifts they gave him so he knew to open it last so he was curious if Pepper did the same. He carefully opened the large box and found a large, beautiful patchwork quilt inside. He pulled it out of the box and admired the work that went into it and was very impressed. "This is amazing, Pepper. What antique store did you buy it in?" he asked as he wrapped it around himself.

"I didn't buy it, Tony," Pepper said softly. "Apparently we both went for homemade gifts this year."

"When did you have time to make something like this? I thought I work you thirty hours out of every twenty-four." Tony said jokingly.

"Well…" Pepper started but hesitated to try to find the right words. "I had a lot of time on my hands when I was only working nine to five at the office and I had to keep myself busy or I would have gone crazy." She said softly as she looked into his eyes.

"You made this while I was in Afghanistan?" Tony asked somberly.

Pepper nodded. "After I had started it, I decided that I wanted to give it to you. For me, as long as I kept working on it, I had hope for you to come back so I could give it to you."

As Tony heard the story and wrapped himself up in the quilt, it was almost like he could feel the love and hope that went into it that was a beacon for him to come home to. "You never gave up on me…" he whispered, not totally trusting his voice.

"Not even when they told me to." Pepper said. "You are all I have too, you know."

"If it wasn't for you, I would have spent another Christmas alone with Jack, Johnny and Jose. Thank you for all of this." Tony said sincerely.

"I am sorry I didn't do this sooner." Pepper admitted.

Tony waved her off and opened the quilt as an invitation for her to join him again. "I have another Christmas movie in mind for us," he said with a smile. "Jarvis, throw on _Die Hard._"

Pepper just sighed as she curled up against his shoulder again and wrapped the quilt around both of them as they watched the movie.

Five movies and two more meals later, Tony started yawning again and was starting to get comfortable on the couch again for what would have been the third night in a row.

"Tony, why don't you go up to bed?" Pepper suggested as she saw his eyes starting to close. "You're exhausted and your bed will be far better for your back than the couch."

"I guess you're right," Tony said through a very big yawn. "This quilt is going right on my bed. Care to share with me?"

"I'll stay in the guest room, Tony." Pepper reminded him.

"Couldn't hurt to try. Offer will still stand even if you get cold." He said as he heaved himself off the couch. "Good night Pepper." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

"Merry Christmas, Tony." Pepper wished him as he headed upstairs.

"It was this time," Tony called back before ducking into his bedroom.

It was two hours later before Pepper felt tired enough to head up to bed. She had Jarvis lock everything down and turn off the lights as she headed up to the guest room. No sooner she had closed the door, she realized that she had nothing to sleep in here since she had taken a load of laundry home and not brought it back yet. Now she faced a dilemma. Did she wake up Tony to ask to borrow something or just try to sneak in his bedroom without him ever knowing?

She silently crept down to Tony's darkened room and pushed the door open. Since he was alone, he didn't shut the door all the way. From the door, she could hear his soft snoring and from that Pepper knew he was out and she might actually be able to get away with this.

Tiptoeing across the carpet to Tony's dresser, Pepper slowly opened it to pull out, ironically an Iron Maiden t-shirt. As she closed the drawer with just a bit too much noise, she heard Tony shift under the blankets and mumble something incoherent as he kicked his blankets off a bit. Knowing full well that Tony would get cold during the night, Pepper set the t-shirt down and crossed over to Tony's bedside to fix the blankets. As she approached, she could see that he was laying on his side with his arm draped over something. Pepper first thought it was a pillow but the soft blue light illuminated something that passed as fur. One thought popped into Pepper's mind but she quickly dismissed it as she left Tony's bedroom. There was no way he slept with a stuffed animal.

It wasn't even eight in the morning the next day when Pepper's BlackBerry started ringing. It was common practice to have all phone calls in the house forwarded to her when Tony was asleep otherwise Jarvis dealt with voicemail. But it was really no surprise when Pepper saw the caller ID who would be calling at such an early hour.

"Merry Christmas, Jim." Pepper said pleasantly as she answered the phone. "How was your holiday?"

"Pepper? Oh god…he must be worse than I thought if you're there." James Rhodes' voice stated from the other end of the phone. "How bad of oblivion did he drink himself into?"

"None at all," Pepper replied. "He hasn't had a drink since Christmas Eve."

"Pepper…I have spent holidays with Tony and I know very well how he deals with them. He usually drinks himself into a coma and wakes up two days later. Hence the friendly wake up call. Now…tell me…how bad is he that you already have to be there to pick up the pieces?"

"I am telling the truth. He hasn't had a drink since Christmas Eve. I have been here since then. He actually admitted to even enjoying the holiday a bit." Pepper stated.

"Are you sure you haven't been drinking?" Rhodey asked. "You do remember why Tony doesn't like Christmas?"

"Very well and I know the whole truth now right from Tony's own mouth," Pepper confirmed. "Albeit, it took a little prodding and stopping him after only half a bottle of scotch."

"He told you?" Rhodey asked incredulously. "How is he?"

Before Pepper could answer, Tony appeared at the top of the stairs. He had showered, shaved and came down nearly dressed in his best black suit, carrying his jacket, tie and shoes in his hand.

"I'll have to call you back later," Pepper said quickly as she hung up the phone so Tony had her attention as he approached.

"Can you tie this for me?" Tony asked softly. His voice was rough and straining to hold back a lot of emotion. "My hands are shaking too much to get it straight."

Those few words said everything to Pepper. Tony was going to his parents' graves like he would have had a few days earlier if Iron Man hadn't detained him. Silently, Pepper turned up Tony's collar on his shirt and started to fix his tie for him. "Would you like me to go with you?" she asked softly as she finished and helped him with his jacket.

"Please," Tony whispered, not trusting his voice much more than that as he put his shoes on.

"I'll drive. Just let me get my keys." Pepper said with a gentle smile as she grabbed her purse and her coat before taking Tony's hand to walk out to the car.


	2. New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve had begun wonderfully. Pepper and three of her friends had planned to go to the Santa Monica pier for their New Year's celebration and forget that they were actually adults and enjoy the pure fun of carnival games and rides.

The planning for this whole event actually started two days earlier when Pepper had received a rather unexpected phone call from Betty Ross, inviting her to the party on the Santa Monica pier. When the call had come in, Pepper had been going through the daily purging of Tony's email while tony was stretched out on the couch with his right ankle propped up on a few pillows with several ice packs due to spraining it by tripping over the auto dolly in his workshop because he didn't turn the lights on.

It was a smile that appeared on Pepper's face and quickly faded that caught Tony's attention. "Something wrong?" he asked with concern.

"I was just invited to a New Year's Eve party with a few friends." Pepper replied without looking up from her laptop.

"And this is a bad thing?" Tony questioned.

"I don't like leaving you alone on New Year's." Pepper stated as she finally looked up. "When I do, it usually ends up on the front page of the tabloids. And you don't like it when I have plans."

Tony laughed. "Well considering the fact that I walk as fast as a 100 year old turtle and about as steadily as a drunk on a pogo stick right now, I don't think I'll be getting into too much trouble this year." He explained as he sat up and grabbed the ice packs from his ankle. "Go and have fun. You deserve it." He added before getting up and heading down to the garage to leave no room for discussion.

Not three hours later, Iron Man was being summoned but before he left, Tony sent Pepper a text.

"_Even if I'm not back by NYE, go to the party and have fun with my blessings. That's an order, Potts._"

Tony wasn't back by New Year's Eve and Pepper hesitated up until the moment she had to leave if she was going out or not. She didn't decide until the text Tony originally sent beeped her again and she left to join her three friends on the Santa Monica Pier.

By nine in the evening, Pepper was thoroughly enjoying herself. She threw down a lot of the walls she built up for survival in Tony Stark's world and dove head first into the games, music, and rides. It was one of the first times that she had been out with her friends since her birthday when she had gotten that terrible phone call from Jim Rhodes telling her that Tony had been taken. So when her phone rang again, her heart leapt into her throat.

Pepper frantically grabbed at her phone to check her caller ID. Her panic was only increased when she saw one of the numbers associated with Tony's mansion.

"Tony? What's wrong?" she frantically asked as she answered her ringing phone.

"No, Ms. Potts. It's not Mr. Stark but it's directly related to him." Jarvis responded.

"Jarvis? What happened? Is Tony hurt?"

"Not physically but more on an emotional level which I can not help him with."

"I am on my way." Pepper shot out quickly as she fished through her bag for her keys. "Jarvis, you need to tell me exactly what is going on so I know how best to help him." She explained as she excused herself from her friends and ran to her car to get over to Tony's house.

"While on a mission in Afghanistan, he experienced a very emotionally trying situation. Now, despite increased fatigue and stress levels, Mr. Stark is insisting on working to repair the damaged armor. Normally, I would refrain from saying anything but this level of stress is affecting his work. He has made several mathematical miscalculations which he normally would not and his grasp and manipulation of the tools he uses like an extension of his own hand is off from his usual precision."

Pepper pulled into the driveway and quickly turned off her car. "Jarvis? Tell me where he is." She demanded as she entered the house.

"He is currently in the workshop, Ms. Potts."

Pepper thanked Jarvis and made her way down the steps to Tony's workshop. She peeked down through the glass wall first so she could mentally prepare herself for what could be waiting for her.

Tony had gotten out of his armor and changed into only a pair of sweats as he proceeded to rip out all the damaged parts of his armor, which seemed rather extensive. His right ankle was now a very dark shade of purple with the substantial bruising. Pepper watched as he took a screwdriver to one of the panels on his armor and how the tool slipped from his shaking hand.

"Sir? Might I suggest working on this later once you have rested and perhaps had something to eat?" Jarvis calmly suggested.

"I already told you I'm fine." Tony snapped as he picked up the dropped screwdriver again and attacked the chest armor again. "If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it."

"Sir, I am only suggesting that you may be more yourself after…"

"And I already told you to shut up!" Tony interjected.

When Tony snaps at Jarvis like that, it is never a good sign. Pepper descended the last of the stairs and opened the door cautiously. "Tony?" she called out gently to alert him to her presence.

"What?" Tony snapped as he dropped the screwdriver again.

"Jarvis called me and said something was bothering you." Pepper stated as she walked up behind him since Tony had yet to turn around.

"And he shouldn't have done that." Tony snapped.

"He doesn't unless something is really wrong. Can you talk to me please?" Pepper asked, still trying to keep her voice calm.

"There's nothing to talk about," Tony ground out. "I just need to get this done without all the damn interruptions."

"Tony, something is obviously bothering you. Please talk to me."

"Nothing is wrong!" Tony shouted. "What the hell does it take for you and Jarvis to get that?"

"If nothing's wrong, then why are your hands shaking?" Pepper pointed out plainly.

That hit a cord with Tony as he threw the screwdriver down across his desk and proceeded to rip a set of wires out with his own hands. "I screwed up. Is that what you want to hear?" he spat angrily as he bent his head while his arms braced him up against his desk. "I have been building and dismantling weapons since I was four years old and I should have known better what would cause them to spontaneously detonate but not this time. I make one freaking error and everything goes to hell and people died because of it."

Pepper froze at Tony's admission but managed to move close enough to him to place a hand on his shoulder as a gentle request for him to turn around. "Please, tell me what happened." She asked as gently as she could.

"I can't." Tony growled as he shrugged her hand off his shoulder and made his escape into the small bathroom he had down in the garage. "If you really want to know so bad…Jarvis…show her." He growled through the closed door.

Pepper sighed, feeling like she hadn't gotten anywhere with him. "Jarvis, can I see what Tony won't talk to me about."

"Please watch the computer screen, Ms. Potts." Jarvis instructed her as a video window came up. On the screen, it was the entire mission from Iron Man's prospective. He flew in to a small village in Afghanistan and landed near a block of buildings. Iron Man walked into his target, a small building that could have been a store at one time but was a weapons depot that looked as if it had dated back to the 1980's.

Pepper knew that in normal cases, Tony would have just blown all the antiquated weapons up and that was the end of it. From what she briefly saw, that option seemed impossible. She then watched as Tony proceeded to start dismantling each and every weapon in the storage area to make them unusable and irreparable. He seemingly did this for hours until he some how stepped back or stumbled as he was taking apart a Stark missile from before he took over the company and there was ticking behind him. Iron Man turned his head to see a Soviet missile activated and set to go off in a manner of seconds. He retreated back to the door but did not clear the building before it exploded and lit up the five other buildings surrounding it.

As Iron Man made his way to the street, he turned back to one of the buildings as people were trying to evacuate it. Dozens of children, many with missing hands, arms, legs or feet or other injuries, were trying to get out of what was assumed to be an orphanage. Iron Man approached the burning building and tried to get the children to safety but only managed a few before another explosion ripped through the buildings, subsequently killing everyone inside. The scream that Tony let out echoed inside of the helmet before Jarvis turned off the video.

After that it was no wonder that Tony was so upset. She walked over to the door and knocked on it gently. "Tony? None of this was your fault. Those weapons were nearly thirty years old in some cases and could have gone off at any time." She said trying to be comforting. "Did you even know what type of missile it was that went off?"

"It was a Soviet scud missile," came Tony's somewhat muffled reply through the door.

"Would you have even been able to dismantle it if you tried?" Pepper asked.

"If it wasn't active and I had more time…most likely yes." Tony shouted through the door.

Pepper sighed. This was getting increasingly more difficult. "Jarvis? A little help please."

"I'll do my best." Jarvis interjected. "Sir? That missile was apparently modified in some manner to set up a trap, most likely by the ones who stockpiled the weapons there. It did not seem like a new modification so you could not have known that before accidently bumping into it." He said calmly.

"But I still did not stop it from going off." Tony called back.

"Tony? Were you able to save any of the children?" Pepper asked, trying to not let exasperation slip into her voice.

"Of course I did. What kind of superhero do you take me for?" Tony snapped back through the door. "I would have gotten more of them but the damn building collapsed and if I hadn't backed out, I would've been trapped there as well."

"They were orphans, correct?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Tony shot back.

"Then that means they would be back with their families. They would have peace, correct?" Pepper said trying to reason with Tony.

"That's what Yinsen said." Tony said softly. "And I couldn't save him either."

"He's the one who saved your life, correct?" Pepper asked, thinking she may have gotten through since Tony stopped snapping at her.

"Yeah…"

"There wasn't much more that you could do. You tried." Pepper sighed. She was getting frustrated at talking through a door. "Tony? Could you please come out here? I would much rather talk to your face than through a door."

Pepper waited a moment but didn't hear any sort of response from him. She called his name again and waited. This time, she backs off a bit when she heard the flush and then the water running.

Tony opened the door and leaned against the door frame, looking a bit pale and a little unsteady on his one good foot.

"There was nothing more that you could have done. You tried your best." Pepper said as she laid a gentle hand on Tony's cheek.

Tony closed his eyes and leaned into her hand. "It doesn't erase the guilt." He said quietly before opening his eyes and seeing how Pepper was dressed – jean skirt, sparkling red strappy stilettos and a tailored button down blouse – and then he remembered what she had said two days earlier. "I am so sorry, Pepper. Jarvis shouldn't have called you when you had plans." He said with deep remorse.

"I think you needed me more. Don't worry about it." Pepper corrected him. "Come on, did I leave you alone at Christmas when you needed me?"

"But still…you were supposed to be able to have fun tonight." Tony protested.

Pepper held up her hand to shut him up for the moment. "I know this may sound strange and you probably don't feel up to it but it would do you some good to get out and be around people so you don't lock yourself in self-misery down here…and I would really like to spend the rest of the evening with you…do you want to come to the party with me?" Pepper rambled out almost nervously.

"Pepper…I'm not sure…wait a second…did you just ask me out?" Tony asked as he wanted to make sure he heard her correctly. "Because I have been asked out before and it sorta sounded like that or I hit my head on landing and I'm hallucinating.'

Pepper blushed. "I guess I did. Do you want to come to the pier with me and my three friends?"

"Me and four beautiful women…how can I refuse?" Tony said as a smirk grazed his lips. "There is just one small issue…" he added as he pointed to his foot.

"I know you have a pair of crutches around here some place. Use them." Pepper told him directly as she dug them out from a closet and handed them to him. "Now go get cleaned up and we could easily make it there by 10:30."

"How can I turn down an invitation like that?" Tony said with a smile as he took the crutches and made his way to the elevator with Pepper following behind him.

Tony went down to the master bath and had Jarvis turn the shower on for him as Pepper found him a clean pair of jeans and a shirt without a hole cut in it for him to wear.

"Do I know any of these friends of yours?" Tony called out from the shower.

"One you do. You hit on her the first day she worked on one of Stark Industries research projects." Pepper called back as she set the clothes just inside the bathroom door for him.

"Does she have a name or am I expected to remember that on my own?" Tony called out.

"Betty Ross."

"Betty…Betty…" Tony repeated, trying to jog his memory as he washed his hair. "Oh I do remember her…really cute brunette, scientist, right?"

"And was completely unavailable," Pepper added in.

"I apologized to Bruce for that and agreed to fund their research for at least another five years to make up for it." Tony stated in his own defense. "I may have picked up a lot of women, Pepper, but I don't make it a point to consciously pick up my friends' girlfriends. And if I do happen to make that mistake, I apologize for it as soon as I find out. I have always liked Bruce and I don't want to piss him off. He's one of the few that can go throw for throw with me on a battle of wits." He said as he got out of the shower, dried off and dressed.

"He had a PhD. for crying out loud." Pepper said with a laugh. "I would think that would have been out of your league."

"I could have had the doctorate as well but I was just tired of being a student." Tony said as he came out of the bathroom. "I still do have a Master's at least. Now, are we going to a party or what?"

It was a fairly short trip back to the pier where Pepper's three friends were a tad concerned when she just ran off but understood completely when she returned with a brief explanation and Tony. Tony was charming to all of the women but saved the best tricks for Pepper. He tried desperately not to make the same mistake twice with Betty. Once was enough in that book. Over the course of the hour and a half before midnight, Tony managed to win Pepper three stuffed animals and a goldfish in between getting dinner which consisted of the best carnival foods.

As midnight approached, Tony made a quiet hint to Pepper that they move a little further down the pier so he could lean against the rail away from the crowds to watch the fireworks. Maybe being on crutches had its advantages. A minute before midnight, a countdown started towards the New Year. Waiting for the fireworks, Tony had his arm around Pepper's waist, holding her close to him. He gave the excuse that she was helping to hold him up. At the stroke of twelve, the fireworks lit up the sky over the Pacific. Tony and Pepper turned towards each other, leaned in for what was supposed to be a kiss on the cheek but their aim was a bit off and hit each other's lips instead.

Pepper quickly pulled back in shock. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen." She stammered out as a quick apology.

"Neither did I." Tony replied as he leaned in. "If this is going to be my first kiss of the New Year, it should not be some quick little peck." He told her as his finger tips grazed her cheek before leaning in and giving her the real kiss that she deserved.


	3. Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day was going to be different. It had to be. In the old days, Tony viewed Valentine's Day as a day to see how many times he could get laid with as many women as possible in one day. He did set a record of fifteen one year. But those days were long gone. He had Pepper now, even if it was only since New Year's, and that meant no more skirt chasing. With Pepper, he was a one woman man.

Given the fact that it was their first Valentine's Day together, Tony wanted desperately to make it special. He lucked out in the fact that he had no meetings scheduled and he didn't even have to go into the office. That one little fact gave him an immense amount of freedom to play with to set up a beautiful evening for himself and Pepper. He had ordered a dozen red roses to be sent to Pepper at Stark Industries as well as a separate dozen sent to house in a veritable rainbow of colors. Tony had also set up a small table in the living room by the windows so they could have dinner together. He was tempted to try to cook for her but opted against it when Jarvis reminded him of what happened last time. Tony knew there was a reason he installed a fire extinguisher on Dummy. Instead, he ordered from Pepper's favorite restaurant and told them to have it here by seven and set up a romantic playlist with Jarvis.

Tony had even remembered to get Pepper a gift. Hell, he had bought it just after New Year's and it had been hiding down in his workshop. Inside the small velvet box on his desk was a gold necklace with a ruby and ten diamonds set in the heart. It was simple but Tony had put a lot of thought into it when he bought it. Pepper had always held his heart both literally and figuratively now and since an engagement ring was too soon, he hoped that she would like this. He also hoped that it would get him something else too. When he and Pepper started their relationship, they had agreed to wait for the proper time before exploring the more physical side and Tony was hoping that he could get Pepper to consider that proposal tonight. After checking it one last time, Tony tucked the necklace away and went upstairs to shower and change for his evening with Pepper.

Right on schedule at a quarter before seven, dinner arrived and Pepper was just walking in the front door just as Tony set the two plates on the table for them.

Pepper couldn't help but smile at the sight set before her. A fire was burning in the fire place and candles lit the rest of the room. Tony had even cleaned up for the occasion, wearing one of his light blue dress shirts and a pair of khakis. "You did all of this?"

Tony nodded with a smile as he leaned into give Pepper a kiss. "Happy Valentine's Day." He whispered to her as he kissed her before pulling back so he could pour the wine for them. "I wanted it to be special." He said as he pulled her chair out for her.

"I think you outdid yourself," Pepper replied, seriously impressed that Tony had done all of this on his own.

"I restrained myself," Tony admitted as he sat down. "Or else we might have ended up in Paris or Rome." He added with a laugh before one sound seriously broke his mood.

His cell phone rang.

Tony growled at the phone as he picked it up. "What?!" he spat into it. The annoyance on his face quickly turned to anger when he heard what the voice said on the other end of the line. "You have got to be kidding me, right?"

Pepper saw Tony's reaction change and she had a feeling who that was on the other end of the line. "What does Fury want?" she asked calmly.

"There's a fire on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and he wants me to help with the rescue." Tony spat. "But just say the word, Pepper, and I'll tell him to sod off right here and now and he can call someone else to play hero."

Pepper sighed because she knew there was only one possible answer. "Tony…go."

"What did you just say?" Tony asked, making sure he heard right.

Pepper stood up from the table and crossed over to where Tony was standing. "I said to go." She said gently as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "I will be here when you get home and we'll finish our celebrations then."

"But Pepper…"

Pepper quickly hushed him. "Iron Man is needed…go."

Tony kissed her deeply before telling Fury that he was on his way. As he was heading down into the garage, Pepper stopped him.

"Tony, make me a promise." Pepper said.

"Anything…"

"Come back to me safe and in one piece."

"I promise…" Tony said with a smile as he ducked into the garage and seconds later, Iron Man shot out like a beacon of light into the night sky.

Twenty-four hours had passed before Tony came home. In that length of time, Pepper wrapped up the food from their interrupted dinner, cleared Tony's schedule for a few days and waited up for him, not being able to sleep until he was home safe. It was a little after seven when Pepper heard the familiar metal clang against cement floors coming up from the garage. Pepper had a smile on her face as she descended even though she knew that Tony could be hurt and she fully expected it.

When she hit the landing, the robots were helping Tony out of the last of his armor and he was swaying like a tree in a windstorm. Pepper opened the door and quickly went over to help him.

"I kept my promise…" Tony whispered as he coughed hard a few times. "Except for a few bruises, I'm in one piece."

"And exhausted," Pepper added as she kissed him before helping him out of the under armor he wore, clearly seeing the deep purple bruises on his arms and stomach. "Let's get you cleaned up and into bed. You need to sleep or you'll collapse on me."

"Are you joining me in the shower?" Tony asked through a yawn as he was more or less shoved up the stairs into the bathroom.

"I'll be waiting in your bedroom to tuck you in." Pepper laughed as she nudged Tony into the bathroom as she had Jarvis turn the shower on.

"Fair enough…get the bed warmed up instead." Tony replied as he stripped off the rest of the under armor and slid under the hot water.

Half an hour later, a clean, warm and slightly damp Tony gratefully crawled into his bed next to Pepper as she pulled his blankets up over him. As he fell into his pillows, Tony looked over at Pepper and gently took her hand. "I'm not the only one who's tired." He whispered as he tugged her down to rest on his shoulder. "Stay…please."

As soon as Tony pulled her down to his shoulder, Pepper had no intention of leaving. She reached up and kissed his lips lovingly before laying back down on his shoulder as his arm wrapped around her. Within moments, both of them were sound asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Tony woke up to find himself alone in the bed and that was something he didn't like. He distinctly remembered falling asleep with Pepper in his arms and now she was gone. He bolted up right in bed, a decision he later regretted, trying to see where she had gone before thinking of the obvious.

"Jarvis? Where's Pepper?"

"She's down making breakfast, sir. I have informed her that you are awake and she says she will be up shortly." Jarvis replied calmly, easing Tony's fears and allowing him to relax a bit more in bed.

Pepper came up a few moments later with two plates of French toast for her and Tony, his being twice the size of hers. "I figured that you'd be hungry."

"You figured right," Tony replied as he reached for his plate and thanked her. "Iron Man burns a lot of calories." He added as he dug in like a starving man.

"Especially since you didn't get to eat before you left." Pepper interjected. "How are you feeling today?"

"Not too bad considering," Tony replied as he quickly polished off his food. "I'm actually pretty good except for a bruise here and there."

"I'm glad to hear that. You know I don't like it when you're hurt." Pepper said as she finished her own food and then gathered up the plates. "Let me just get these cleaned up and I'll be back. I believe we have Valentine's Day to celebrate still." She said with a smile, leaving Tony to ponder what she said.

Tony leaned back against his pillows; relaxing as he watched Pepper leave and thinking she looked really cute in her pjs. He stretched out and dozed in and out for a few minutes, allowing himself the time to recuperate for once after a mission. He was half asleep when Pepper appeared back in his door and really thought he was dreaming when he saw her.

At some point in time over the last six weeks, Tony had mentioned to Pepper a fantasy that he had. He had dreamed that she would come to him wearing pair of sheer black thigh highs, stilettos, a sheer blouse that she would never wear to work without something under it to not show off (not that Tony actually minded the view) and nothing else. So when she appeared at the door in exactly what he had dreamed about, he figured he had to be asleep until he felt Pepper's hand sliding up his leg as she crawled across the bed to him.

Tony swallowed hard as the evidence of how much he was enjoying this was growing quite visible and extremely sensitive, especially when her hand brushed across his groin. "Pepper, are you sure about this…"

Pepper had passion's fire's burning in her eyes as she snaked up Tony's body, undid the drawstring on his pajama pants and kissed him deeply. "Absolutely…" Pepper replied as she silenced anymore protests with a long, deep kiss.

* * *

The sun was much higher in the sky when Pepper awoke again to find herself naked and alone in Tony's bed. After they had made love for the first time, they had fallen back to sleep still holding each other and now she wakes up alone. Pepper almost had to guess that this would happen when she considered Tony's old habits but none of the others were ever actually in his bed but one of the guest rooms. As she gathered the blankets around herself, Pepper sort of hoped that she would have been different. Tears started to well up in her eyes when she thought of herself as just another notch on his bedpost.

"What's wrong?" a familiar and unexpected voice said from the door.

Pepper opened her eyes and sat up to see Tony standing in the door frame, half-aroused and totally naked except from an ear to ear grin with his hand behind his back.

Pepper wiped at her eyes as she sat up a little more and shook her head. "You do remember that you have several walls of all windows, right?"

"Yeah but it's my house so I'll do what I damn well please," Tony said as he came back into the room and slid back under the warm blankets with Pepper and pulled her close to him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Why were you crying?"

"I thought you had left like you did with all the other girls," Pepper admitted. "I know it's silly but I know how you were."

"I had to go to the bathroom," Tony admitted with a laugh. "And I had to get your present." He added as he pulled out the black velvet box from behind his back. "I told you that I wanted to make it special. I bought that back on January second."

The blankets slipped a bit as Pepper took the box from Tony, exposing one of her breasts, much to his increased pleasure. She opened the box and gasped when she saw the gold heart necklace with the ruby and diamonds. "This is beautiful, Tony," she said breathlessly as she took it out of the box.

Tony slipped the necklace from her hands and leaned in to steal a kiss as he fastened it around her neck. "Well, you proved that I have a heart so I figured you should keep it safe for me." He said with a smile as he backed off to admire his gift on the woman he loved more than anything in the world. The necklace glistened against the pale skin right above her breasts, an irresistible sight for Tony. As he leaned in to kiss her again, his hand ghosted ever so delicately over her breast.

"You're up for number two already?" Pepper asked in between Tony's deep kissed.

"Well, considering the fact that you jumped me before, I thought I should return the favor," Tony said with a smirk as he lowered Pepper back down to the mattress.

"Well, I will expect equal compensation then…" Pepper replied.

"Tell me your fantasy and I will do my best to give it to you." Tony whispered as he placed small kisses down her neck.

"Well, there is this one thing…"


	4. Tony's Birthday

Pepper Potts was frustrated. No, correction…Pepper Potts was panicked AND frustrated but sure as hell couldn't let on to either one. A month ago, everything was fine and running swimmingly until Tony dropped the bomb that he wanted nothing to do with the black tie gala that was usually planned for his birthday every year, a gala that Pepper had already started to plan and now needed to promptly cancel. Now, she sat at her desk with the date circled in red only a week away and she had not the first idea of what to do for Tony's birthday.

A knock at her door brought Pepper out of her one way trip into despair. She pulled herself together so she kept up her infallible appearance as she called for whoever was knocking to come in.

"I have Mr. stark's mail for you to go over," Mary said with a smile as she set a small pile of envelopes in front of Pepper. "You look stressed, dear. More so than usual. I would have thought you would be happy given the fact that Mr. Stark actually went to his scheduled meetings today."

"I am happy about that, Mary." Pepper sighed as she thumbed through the envelopes. "I just don't know what to do for Mr. Stark's birthday this year since he said he did not want the big gala this year because of, and I quote, "all the freeloaders who come for the free food and booze and schmoozing opportunities and who don't give a damn really about me."

"I can understand where's he's coming from, especially with how few true birthday parties he had as a boy." Mary stated.

That gave Pepper an idea. "A small birthday party could be fun for him." She mused. "Thank you Mary. You're a genius." She exclaimed as she came upon a letter that stood out from the rest. It had a hand written address and return address on it in distinctly feminine handwriting. "Mary, do you know who this woman is?" Pepper asked as she showed her the letter. "She has written to Tony many times but I have never actually asked him about it."

Mary took the letter and smiled when she saw the name. "Teresa Rinaldi was the Stark family housekeeper. She's known Tony since he was a baby." She replied with a smile. "After his parents died, it was her and his old butler Edwin who took care of him."

An idea started to spin in Pepper's mind. "When was the last time he saw either one of them?"

"You would probably know that better than me but I would guess not since he moved to Malibu." Mary said with a shrug.

"Do you have her phone number?" Pepper asked with a smile which faded. "I have never met her. This could be a little awkward."

Mary skimmed through her contacts and pulled out the card and handed it to Pepper. "I am sure the Colonel would help if you asked."

"Have I mentioned you are a genius and a lifesaver?" Pepper exclaimed as she turned to head into her office to call Rhodey. "Let me know when Mr. Stark returns."

"Of course and I've heard it once or twice," Mary said warmly as she returned to her desk as Pepper shut her door to get down to business.

Pepper dialed Rhodey's cell phone to avoid the military run around if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

"Hi Pepper. What's up?" Rhodey replied warmly on the other end of the phone.

"Aren't you usually a little more reserved when you pick up the phone?" Pepper said with a laugh and with a little surprise at his relaxed tone.

"Caller ID and a day off can do wonders." Rhodey laughed. "What can I do for you?"

"It's about Tony's birthday. I am planning a little party for him."

"I was wondering why I hadn't gotten the invite yet. I was starting to think I wouldn't need the penguin suit."

"You won't need it actually," Pepper corrected. "Tony did not want the gala this year so we're having a small party at home."

"He'll like that. That's what his parents used to do for him." Rhodey stated. "Can I help at all?"

"Actually that is the reason why I called. Do you know his old butler and housekeeper?"

"Teresa and Edwin? Of course I do."

"I was wondering if you could call them and invite them to Tony's party. We'll pay for all expenses of course to get them here."

"Not a problem. I haven't gotten to speak to either of them in years since we had to stop picking up after Tony but you know both of them will fight you on the paying part."

"I know that but you have to not let them win on it. I insist on it. If travel arrangements are a problem, I will send the jet." Pepper said urgently.

"Pepper, don't worry. I'll take care of it. I'll call you back." Rhodey reassured her before hanging up.

Less than an hour later, Rhodey called back.

"Well?" Pepper asked impatiently.

"They are both coming." Rhodey confirmed. "Teresa will be flying in on the morning of his birthday and I will pick her up at the airport on my way back from Palm Springs with Edwin. Teresa had one condition though."

"What was it?" Pepper asked worriedly.

"She wants to talk to you." Rhodey stated as he heard Pepper swallow hard on the other line. "I don't think there should be anything to worry about but Teresa and Edwin LOVE Tony. They always have. I think she just wants to get to know you before actually arriving."

"This is not easing my anxiety here." Pepper stated. "This could possibly be worse than if I could have met his parents."

"No, this will be just about the same. These two weren't just employees but nearly family. She's expecting your call. Good luck."

Pepper sighed as Rhodey hung up from her and she dialed the number that Mary had given her earlier. She took a deep breath as she dialed and listened to the phone ring on the other end. She knew it was silly to be so nervous, especially when she could make generals and CEOs cringe. But this was so different than what she was used to.

"Hello?"

"Can I speak with Teresa Rinaldi, please?" Pepper asked.

"This is she. Is this Pepper?" she asked with a warm excitement.

"Yes, I am calling about Tony's birthday."

"The Colonel said you'd be calling me back right away and he wasn't lying about that. I have been looking forward to speaking to you for so long because I knew you had to be someone special to catch my Tony's heart." Teresa babbled out quickly out of a slight bit of nervousness. "I'm sorry about that. I would guess he's your Tony now but I have known him for so long that it just kind of slips out. I started working for his family when I was barely more than twenty and I have known him since he was a baby. Forgive me, I don't mean to go on like this. About his birthday…I want to thank you for inviting me. I saw pictures from the galas that were usually thrown on TV and I knew I wouldn't fit there. I would really like to help with it."

"You're a guest. You really don't need to." Pepper said gently.

"I know I don't have to but consider it part of my gift to him." Teresa stated. "He's like a son to me and it would mean a great deal to me if I could do the cooking and make his birthday cake. It's been a very long time since I've been able to and it would make things easier on you. You're his assistant as well, correct? I bet he keeps you on your toes."

"That's one way of putting it." Pepper said with a laugh. "I will have Colonel Rhodes meet you at the airport and just give me a list of whatever you need and I will make sure you have everything. Do you have email?"

"Yes, Tony made sure of that but I blatantly refuse to email him. I want him off those computers some time." Teresa insisted.

Pepper just had to laugh at that statement as she gave Teresa her email address. "That's far easier said than done when a computer essentially runs his house." She said with a laugh. "But you will get to see that when you arrive. If you have any concerns, don't hesitate to call me."

"I won't and I want to thank you again. I am really looking forward to meeting you this weekend." Teresa said before saying her good byes.

"As am I…until then," Pepper responded before hanging up with a sigh of relief. That went really well.

Over the next week, Pepper went into full planning mode. Using every free moment that Tony was otherwise occupied, whether it was a meeting he was actually scheduled to go to and that he ACTUALLY went to or him playing in his workshop or even venturing out as Iron Man, Pepper managed to keep a good portion of Tony's birthday plans a secret. He knew Rhodey was coming over for dinner on his birthday but not much more after that, not even the few decorations that were stashed in a closet that Jarvis was sworn to secrecy about.

His gifts required a bit more of a covert operation. Tony hadn't said much about presents except the fact that he wanted Pepper in a big bow and not much else. That was not entirely out of the question but Pepper had a few other things in mind first, some more tangible than others. Through a few strategic phone calls and discreet moves, all the gifts were securely in place and all Pepper had to worry about then was whether or not Tony would like them.

By the time Tony's birthday rolled around on Saturday, everything was going like a well oiled machine, just as a Pepper Potts production should. She had stayed over the night before and woke early as she usually did, even when she didn't have to. It was a good thing she did because a certain wing man had to call at seven in the morning.

"You're lucky Tony's still asleep or this all could have been ruined." Pepper whispered harshly as she picked up the phone.

"I wouldn't be calling if there wasn't a problem." Rhodey snapped back. "I am on my way to Palm Springs and I just called to confirm Teresa's flight and it's been delayed due to the weather in New York. There's a chance now that we're going to be late."

Pepper's heart jumped into her throat. Her whole planned was banking on this moment. "We can only hope he gets distracted in the garage or else then we'll have a problem. I'll have to think of something."

"This is why I'm giving you the heads up now. Tell him I wished him a happy birthday. I'll see you later." Rhodey said before hanging up.

Pepper hung up the phone and flopped on to the couch. She knew she should have sent the jet for Teresa. Tony's pilot flew through damn near everything.

It was well past ten by the time Tony finally stirred. He had actually slept through the night without any nightmares, something that happened far more frequently when Pepper stayed with him. In his opinion, Pepper in his bed had more than one benefit and he was not about to give them up without a fight.

Stretching and shaking off the last bits of sleep, Tony slid from the bed, hit the bathroom and started to head downstairs. As he was padding down the hallway, he passed Pepper's office and something caught him. There was a light on in there that wasn't there before. He took two steps back and saw a fish tank in her office…a big one with two fish in it. He definitely recognized one of the fish…he had won it for her on New Year's Eve but not the other.

"Pepper?" Tony called out as he was still looking at the fish. "I thought you said Orlina was going to live at home? And who's the tank mate here?"

As soon as Pepper heard Tony's voice, she snapped out of her worried funk and headed up the stairs. He had found one of her gifts. "She is living at home and once I put her in the upscale fish condo here, a roommate was an appropriate addition so I bought Aurelio for her." She said rather matter of factly, like she was telling him what appointments he had today, just to see if he would pick up on what she had said before his morning coffee.

"I guess every fish needs a friend," Tony shrugged before something kicked him in the back of the head. "Did you just say the fish is home? Like…you are home…as in you are moving in here?"

Pepper smiled and nodded as her first gift was revealed. "I thought this might be a nice gift for you on your birthday." She said as she hugged him and kissed his lips to get him breathing again. "Happy birthday, Tony."

"Thanks…for both," Tony stammered out, still reeling from the surprise she had just given him. "Is this my only gift or is there more?"

"There's more that will be revealed all in good time. You just have to have patience." Pepper teased.

"Patience is not something I'm known for, especially when it comes to presents. I was the type of kid who would scavenge the house for my gifts and do the shake and guess technique." Tony admitted with a smile. "But now I can cheat and have Jarvis tell me."

"I already thought of that and that is why even Jarvis does not know all of the gifts." Pepper countered with a smirk. "Now, go relax in your workshop. I'll bring down breakfast for you and you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't involve the emergency room or getting disgustingly filthy."

"Point to you on that one. You figured that one out faster than my parents did." Tony commented as he kissed her once more. "What time do I need to be presentable by?"

"I will have Jarvis tell you when you need to get ready by. Now, go and have fun." Pepper insisted as she nudged Tony towards his workshop.

"If it wasn't my birthday, I would seriously be wondering why you would be kicking me towards my workshop instead of out of it but I'm not going to push my luck." Tony said with a laugh as he descended before Pepper could change her mind.

Over the next few hours, Pepper busied herself finishing up the party plans while Tony tried to wheel and deal with Jarvis while he worked between his armor and somewhat neglected car collection to find out what his gifts were. True to what Pepper said, she did swear him to secrecy on what he did know and was not going to budge even under threat of reprogramming.

At five o'clock on the nose, Jarvis pulled Tony out from under the hot rod with instructions to get showered and dressed before Colonel Rhodes was set to arrive at six for his birthday. For once, Tony did not try to stall and waste time. Like a good boy, he wiped off his hands and took the elevator up to his master bath to get cleaned up.

A few minutes before six, Tony started to descend the stairs and found a distinct lack of activity where there should be some. "Pepper? Shouldn't Platypus be here by now? He's usually sickeningly punctual."

"He called and said he was going to be late." Pepper called back from the kitchen as she was getting a few plates down from a cabinet. "He said he had to pick up your birthday present." Now, that wasn't a TOTAL lie.

"I have warned him time and time again about late shopping and how much trouble it has gotten me into…" Tony said as he walked through the living room and then came to a dead stop when he saw the dining room.

Pepper had outdone herself. There was a huge bouquet of multicolored latex and mylar balloons tied to his chair and crepe paper streamers hanging from the ceiling. A happy birthday banner was hung on the wall over a small pile of presents and a stack of birthday plates.

When Pepper heard Tony stop talking mid-sentence, she put down what she was doing in the kitchen and went to check on him. She walked into the dining room and found him staring at the set up she had laid out and her heart sank. "Oh god, I'm sorry. You don't like it, do you?" she gasped.

Tony was brought back to reality by the sound of Pepper's face and the panicked look on her face. He smiled as he crossed over to her and slid his arms around her waist and kissed her gently. "Quite the opposite actually," Tony said warmly. "This was what my parents used to do for me and I love it. You should know by now there is very little you can do to upset me except for constantly turning down my music." He said with a laugh.

"You play it too loud," Pepper admonished him as her BlackBerry began to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out to see the text from Jarvis saying that Rhodey was on final approach. She needed to get Tony out of the room for a few minutes. "Tony, could you go upstairs and feed my fish?"

"Can't that wait for later? I mean, they're fish not a dog." Tony stated.

"But they are used to being fed on a schedule. I've trained them like that. Please?" Pepper said sweetly and gently nudging Tony upstairs as she quickly checked her watch.

"You know I could build you an automatic fish feeder and none of this would be necessary." Tony groaned as he headed up the stairs.

"But then my fish would explode if it malfunctioned." Pepper called back as she moved towards the door. "Just a pinch, please."

"My stuff never malfunctions you know…" Tony called down.

"Three words Tony…Butterfingers and Dummy." Pepper called back as she cracked the door open for Rhodey.

Rhodey handed Pepper a baking dish wrapped in foil and a cake carrier. "Teresa says put that in the oven for ten minutes at 325 to warm it up and put the cake in the fridge for later. I have to go help them out of the car."

"Tony's upstairs. Have Jarvis announce you and I'll have Tony get the door." Pepper whispered quickly as she got the door and ran into the kitchen to get the baking dish in the oven and the cake in the fridge as she pulled out the salad she had made and set it on the table.

"Sir, Colonel Rhodes is walking up the driveway." Jarvis chimed in.

"Tony! Could you get the door please?" Pepper called upstairs from the kitchen.

"First feed the fish and then get the door…what next?" Tony mocked as he ran down the steps to the front door. "What took you so long, Platypus?" he said opening the door.

"I was picking up your presents, fool." Rhodey said with a laugh before he stepped aside to reveal the two people who were with him.

Walking up the walkway just behind Rhodey were two very familiar faces. First was a mature beautiful woman with flecks of gray in her slightly curly brown hair dressed in a red blouse and black pants and the other was an older gentleman who was anything but frail considering his advanced age. As they got closer, Tony nearly stopped breathing. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, not even as the woman hugged him.

"Happy birthday, sweetie," Teresa said as she hugged Tony tightly.

"Teresa? What are you doing here?" Tony gasped out happily as he returned the hug.

"You have two people who care about you very much to make sure you have a happy birthday." She said warmly as walked into the house.

Then Tony walked out to meet Rhodey as he helped the other guest out of the car.

"Edwin, when did it go from you helping me and Rhodey to me and Rhodey helping you, Old Man?" Tony joked as he helped his old butler out of Rhodey's truck.

"Since I retired and you put me up in that fabulous community with all those eligible widows." Edwin laughed as he hugged Tony. "Happy birthday, sir."

"Stop calling me sir. You don't need to do that anymore." Tony admonished him as Rhodey grabbed a large bag with gifts inside of it and Edwin's and Teresa's luggage and followed them into the mansion.

"It is a habit that will never go away, Master Anthony." Edwin said warmly as he entered the mansion. "I remember seeing the designs for this place on paper but this is far more than I imagined."

"You don't know the half of it," Tony said with a smile. "But first, some introductions…Teresa Rinaldi and Edwin Jarvis, I would like to introduce you to my personal assistant and girlfriend, Virginia "Pepper" Potts. Pepper, the first people who ran my life, my former housekeeper and former butler."

"It's a real pleasure to meet both of you finally." Pepper said warmly as she greeted Teresa and Edwin. "Tony has told me a great deal about both of you over the years."

"But he has kept a great deal about you a secret from us," Teresa said with a smile. "He neglected to say that the woman who finally won his heart was not only incredibly intelligent but beautiful to boot. Shame on you, Tony."

"I did say she was gorgeous but writing has never been my strong suit." Tony protested in his own defense. "And Edwin, this one is especially for you. I have someone very special. Jarvis, you up?"

"For you sir, always."

Tony smiled. "Jarvis, meet your namesake. Edwin Jarvis, I would like to present Just A Really Very Intelligent System otherwise known as JARVIS. He runs the house."

"It is a great pleasure to meet the source of my name." Jarvis stated.

Edwin seemed a little confused at first but then remembered. This was the ultimate project that Tony had been working on when he was younger. "I am glad to meet the computer that could finally keep up with Master Anthony."

"I am still trying to do that on a daily basis." Jarvis chimed in.

"Remember what I said about being a DOS program earlier, Jarvis? I can still do that." Tony reminded his faithful AI.

"I am ready when you need me sir."

As Tony fought with Jarvis, Pepper pulled the baking dish out of the oven to get Tony's attention. She knew food would succeed far quicker than calling him. "Dinner's ready."

As soon as the aroma hit Tony's nose, his stomach started growling and he looked at Teresa. He would recognize that smell anywhere and he hadn't had it for years. "You didn't, did you?"

Teresa nodded and smiled. "Of course I did. Pepper and Jim were gracious enough to help an old woman out with it. I even made the sauce from scratch when I got off the plane this morning."

"You are not old so stop that and I could seriously kiss you right now if I didn't think you weren't going to whack me in the nose with an oven mitt if I don't sit down soon." Tony said as he took his seat at the dining room table.

Pepper watched in shock at how quickly he did what he was supposed to. "How did you do that?" Pepper asked as she set the dish on the table.

"He learned fast when he was little that if I caught him snitching cookies or snacks before dinner, I hit him with an oven mitt. His father as well." Teresa laughed.

"She threw the oven mitt hard," Tony chimed in. "Now, enough talk. Open the foil there before I call Butterfingers up here. I know damn well what's in there and I have a severe lack of patience when it comes to this."

Pepper had to laugh at the Tony she knew well and loved, the impatient boy in the man's body. To stop the meltdown, she took off the foil and put it in the kitchen as everyone dug in to Tony's favorite, Teresa's eggplant parmigiana; a recipe that was a more heavily guarded secret than half of the CIA confidential files and more people were willing to die for to get at.

After everyone stuffed themselves on Teresa's fabulous cooking, Pepper brought over the pile of presents for Tony to open while everyone digested. The first two on the top were from Rhodey.

Tony tore into the paper like an over anxious kid and bust out laughing when he saw what were there, _Flight Simulator_ and the latest edition of _Halo_.

"I figured since you have this superhero gig going on, you really do need to practice your flying skills and your aim." Rhodey said with a laugh.

"Need I remind you that YOUR pilot hit me and then I saved his sorry ass when the Air Force decided to go cheap on the parachutes?" Tony stated in his own defense. "And there is nothing wrong with my aim. Who knocked who out first in paintball last week? The CEO or the Colonel? I rest my case." He added as he thanked him.

The second was a smaller gift from Pepper. She had already done so much for him with her moving in, the party, and Teresa and Edwin; he wondered what else she could have gotten for him. He was still silently hoping for her in a bow later without so many people around. He opened up the card and smiled at the sentiment in it that was only meant for him. Then he saw a small but very familiar logo on a thin envelope inside the card. Tony opened it up with a big smile, opening day tickets for the Yankees right behind home plate.

"I was wondering why we were scheduled to go to New York next week," Tony mused. "So who did you call; Hank or George?"

"Derek." Pepper said simply.

Tony looked at her with a bit of surprise. "I don't know whether I should be impressed, intimidated or jealous that you called Derek Jeter for these."

"Why would I need a multi-millionaire All-Star baseball player when I have a multi-billionaire superhero at home?" Pepper laughed as she set the bag from Teresa and Edwin in front of him.

"Open Edwin's first," Teresa insisted. She knew the Stark family tradition well about how gifts were dealt with.

"Okay, I understand." Tony said as he peered in the bag. He saw three things in it, one very awkward shaped gift, one very small box which had a note on it to only open alone and one very big box. He grabbed the awkward shaped one first and shook it a little before tearing open the paper, swallowing back a bit of laughter when he saw what it was.

"Okay there has to be a story here. Let's hear it." Rhodey insisted.

Tony pulled out a small plastic rocket that was similar looking to the space shuttle with a severely charred back end and set it on the table. "Besides for cars, I liked model rockets when I was little. My Dad had bought this one without totally reading the box. I had put it together and got upset when I found out it didn't fly so my Dad found a small engine casing that would fit, packed it full of gun powder and we set it on fire. It flew well enough…well enough to land on the roof of the house. Dad then had to climb on the roof to go get it. Coming down, he sorta slipped and ended up breaking his wrist because of it and vowed from then on that he would make sure that any further rockets would fly without his help."

"I remember that. I swear that was the only time your mother was seriously considering staying on the opposite coast of your father to get away from his whining about the cast." Teresa laughed. "I think by the time the six weeks were up, Mrs. Stark was willing to saw the cast off herself."

Tony laughed at the memory as he pocketed the small box that said open alone and pulled out the big one from Teresa. He tore off the paper and felt tears sting at the corner of his eyes a bit as he pulled out two large but old photo albums. He took a deep breath to regain control of his emotions as he thumbed through what was his parents' wedding album and one from when he was a baby. "Where did you find these?" he asked.

"They had been in storage for a while and I found them when I was last cleaning things out. I knew you would want them." Teresa said warmly.

Still absorbing what he got, Tony nodded in agreement to what Teresa had said. "Thanks for all of this. I haven't had a birthday this good in quite some time." He said gratefully as Pepper went off to get his birthday cake from the fridge to close off the party.

After polishing off the homemade Black Forest cake with thirty-six candles on it, the party had started to wind down. Tony and Rhodey had taken over the couch for a one on one Halo tournament while Edwin agreed to referee so neither one cheated while Teresa and Pepper shared a cup of tea in the kitchen.

"I haven't seen Tony this happy in years…not since his parents died. Since very little else has changed I can only attribute that to you. You are a gift to him in more ways than you realize. You love him very much, don't you?" Teresa told her.

Pepper blushed slightly at the statement. "Very much. I just wish I had realized it and accepted it sooner. I had denied it for years, trying to keep everything professional between us but when I worked in such close proximity with him and saw him through every hangover, stomach flu and latest Barbie doll he brought home, it was very hard to ignore that there was more there."

"How long have you two been a couple officially?"

"Only since New Year's Eve," Pepper admitted.

"What a way to end and begin the year…with love."

Hours later, the mansion was quiet. Rhodey had gone home and Edwin and Teresa had gone to bed in the guest rooms. Pepper ducked into Tony's bedroom to add one thing under the blouse and skirt she was wearing before she went in search of Tony in the workshop.

As she descended the stairs, Pepper watched Tony without him knowing she was there for a moment. The balloons had been moved next to his couch in the workshop and the rocket sat on his desk next to a picture of him and his dad while he sat on the couch looking through the albums that Teresa had given him. His music was playing softly and the hard rock and metal he usually listened to was clearly absent, replaced with the gentler sounds of the ballads by Bon Jovi. Pepper typed in her pass code and the door opened with a quiet snick. She closed it behind her and crossed over behind the couch and wrapped her arms around Tony's neck. "Happy birthday," she whispered in his ear again. It was only then that she noticed something out of place. "What's wrong?" Pepper asked gently.

Tony sniffed slightly and closed the album he was looking at. "Nothing's wrong," he insisted as he patted the cushion next to him for Pepper to join him.

Not entirely convinced, Pepper sat down next to Tony and curled into his shoulder. It was then she saw the small black velvet box in his hands and something inside of her put up an alert. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked nervously.

"It is if you want it to be," Tony said softly as he looked at the box in his hands.

"Tony, I don't know…" Pepper stammered before Tony stopped her with a kiss.

"Pepper, stop," he told her to keep her from hyperventilating. "You know I would marry you right here and now but I know if I ask now and you say no, my heart won't be able to take it even if it's a not yet so I'm not asking yet." He assured her. "It's just that you've done so much for me today and I wanted to find some way of thanking you."

Pepper listened to what Tony had said and when her eyes shifted up from the box she could see that he had tears in his eyes as he spoke. "You bought me a gift on your birthday?" she whispered.

Tony shook his head and took a shaky breath as he opened the box to reveal a sapphire ring set on a circular wave of yellow gold with small round diamonds on each side of the royal blue stone. "I've actually had this for a while and just didn't know the right moment to give it to you. It was my mother's."

Pepper looked at the beautiful ring and swallowed hard. It was very precious. "Tony, are you sure? I mean this is very special."

Tony swallowed hard as he tried to find the right words so he wouldn't lose it. "My father gave this ring to my mother. When my parents first started going out, my father was considerably older than my mother and my grandfather didn't trust his intentions. So to prove himself to my grandfather, my father bought this ring for my mother as a promise of his loyalty and love and to show that he wasn't going anywhere. He asked her to wear it on her right hand until she was ready for him to ask her to marry him. Then it was their signal to him when she moved it to her left, he was allowed to ask her. My mother always said she would give it to me one day to give to the girl I loved." Tony explained as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it on to Pepper's right ring finger with his hands shaking. "As my way of saying thank you for today and all you've done for me as well as how much I love you, I ask you to accept this with the same deal."

Pepper looked down at the delicate ring on her hand and the vulnerability in Tony's eyes and nodded, not able to find her voice at the moment.

Tony saw the nod and pulled Pepper into a tight hug, burying his face in her hair as he held her close, savoring every second he had with her.

After a few moments, when Pepper felt Tony's pounding heart rate go back down she pulled away gently. "I have still one more birthday present for you." She told him as she unbuttoned the top few buttons on her blouse, just enough to reveal the top of a big red bow.

Tony's eyes shifted from her face to her hands and a grin spread across his lips as he saw the bow. "Just what I wanted…you in just a bow but there is way too much other wrapping going here." He teased as he started to go for more of the buttons.

Pepper playfully swatted his hand away as she crooked her finger for him to follow her upstairs to what was now THEIR room. "Only good boys get to unwrap this gift."

"Oh not to worry about that one," Tony said as he started to chase her up the stairs to the bedroom. "I am a very good boy."


	5. July 4th

_A/N: Sorry about the delay on this one – real life has been biting me in the tail lately. Also thanks to Cincoflex and Tamasit1 for all their help._

It had all started on Friday after noon at lunchtime when Tony announced that he and Pepper were going away for the Fourth of July weekend and she should be ready to leave by four in the afternoon. He left no room for negotiation or argument so promptly at four; his private jet was taking them to a place which only Tony and the pilot knew. He was having way too much fun keeping Pepper in the dark save for a few clues as to what to pack.

Six hours later, Tony's jet touched down at JFK in New York where a car had been waiting for him. He encouraged Pepper to get comfortable in the passenger seat, hoping she would fall asleep given the fact that it was well past 1:30 in the morning otherwise the estimated hour and forty-five minute drive time down the Long Island Expressway could scare the hell out of her, especially the way Tony drove in comparison to all the other crazies. Compared to the LIE, the 405 was a cakewalk. There was a reason he was taught how to drive on Long Island.

Two energy drinks and an hour and twenty minutes later, Tony pulled into the driveway of his parents' house fighting to stay awake. He nudged Pepper and the two of them blindly went into the house and had barely enough energy to change before crashing into bed.

As the sunlight filtered through the curtains and blinds, Pepper was awoken by the sound of crashing waves outside. She opened her eyes and in sleepy confusion wondered exactly where she was. What she did not see was the shades of silver and black and the wall of windows overlooking the Pacific as was the case in Tony's Malibu mansion. Instead the walls were warm shades of red and the furniture was all made of richly colored cherry. The bed was also different. Having grown accustomed to the king sized bed Tony had at the mansion, this full sized one with the red and blue plaid bedspread was oddly cozy and Pepper was grateful that Tony did not kick her in his sleep. Smiling down at Tony who was still quite soundly asleep next to her, Pepper eased out of the bed and slipped out of the bedroom to explore a little bit while she had a few moments to herself.

Pepper crept along the second floor and found at least two bathrooms and three more bedrooms, two which had the distinct feel of guestrooms since they were devoid of any personal touches that would have signaled who lived there. The third though was easy to figure out. The red, white and blue with florals and paisleys quilt on the bed showed a blended compromise of a husband and wife and the various family photos cemented it. This had to have been Howard and Maria Stark's room. Pepper stepped inside and the room seemed to have an almost museum feel to it. Everything seemed to have its proper place and was frozen in time from when Maria and Howard were taken prematurely. The room showed no sign that Tony had ever even considered taking over the master bedroom when he got the house and that small detail in itself troubled Pepper given the fact that she knows how much Tony bottles up and hides when it comes to the death of his parents.

As Pepper descended one of the two staircases in the house, she peeked out the window and saw a gazebo, the in ground pool and the pathway leading to the beach. As she got lower though, something else caught her attention – the smell of coffee. Pepper brushed it off as an illusion at first because there was no way that Tony had remembered to set a timer on an automatic coffee maker at three in the morning. She wasn't even sure he knew how to work a coffee maker since Jarvis did it for him when she did not. She continued her descent but the aroma did not dissipate. In fact it got stronger and really confusing.

"Good morning, Pepper," a warm and familiar voice came from the kitchen.

"Teresa?" Pepper exclaimed as Tony's housekeeper crossed the room to hug her. "What are you doing here?"

"My job," Teresa said with a laugh. "Tony called me a few days ago saying he was coming to the house for the Fourth and asked if I would take care of him. How could I possibly deny him…especially when he pays me so well?" she said with a laugh. "I have to admit that I did like driving the Mercedes to JFK. That was fun. How do you take your coffee, dear?"

"Light and sweet, thank you," Pepper said as she took a seat at the kitchen island. "So it seems that you knew more about coming here than I did…which is a rare occurrence considering the fact that I run Tony's life."

Teresa smiled as she handed Pepper her coffee. "Only in the last few years has he not spent the Fourth of July here," Teresa admitted. "Except he didn't have as much fun as he did when Howard and Maria were still with us."

"Tony's mentioned once or twice that he and his father made their own fireworks," Pepper interjected.

"There was more than just the fireworks. Howard never worked on the Fourth so it was a guaranteed opportunity for the family to be together every year. They would have barbeques, play in the ocean, and go swimming…very normal things for a family that was considered well beyond normal in average society. That's probably why he still came back here so often. He didn't need to worry about being known here because everyone already knew him. As far as this small town is concerned, he's just another resident and not the great Tony Stark."

Pepper could not deny the logic in what Teresa had said. "I had heard about this house but I have to admit I pictured it differently considering I have seen the Beverly Hills mansion and the New York penthouse."

Teresa laughed. "As Howard would always say, 'there's a difference between New York and California and Long Island. In California and Manhattan, outward appearances display ones status in society and one expects certain things from those at the top. Here on the Island, everyone is intermingled so it is not uncommon to see a celebrity eating at the same diner with the locals so blending in makes for an easier life.'" Teresa explained. "The mansion in Beverly Hills and the penthouse have to look like that so they portrayed the image of the great Howard Stark. There was a reason that they raised Tony for the most part here."

Even though Pepper thoroughly enjoyed hearing all about the great things of Tony's past, there was still one question that was bugging her and she figured it would be easier to ask Teresa rather than Tony. "Is that the reason why he still sleeps in his old room rather than the master bedroom?"

Teresa sighed and inwardly cringed a bit. She knew this habit of Tony's very well and never pushed him to change. It had been mentioned once before and she remembered how badly Tony reacted to it. "Even as a little boy he never went in there without being asked. He never asked to stay with them if he had a nightmare, Maria went to him." She explained with a far less jovial tone. "Tony barely sees the house as his so their room is like crossing a line he isn't supposed to. I think that he hasn't totally accepted the fact that they are gone because they were taken so abruptly. Edwin and I mentioned it to Tony once some months after Howard and Maria had passed. We offered to help him change the room in any manner he wanted. Tony wouldn't hear of it and he shut himself off from us for nearly two weeks afterwards and every time we saw him it looked like he had been crying and that hurt us more since we loved him terribly. Edwin and I eventually figured out how this worked in Tony's mind… if he changes things it will be final…they're gone and he's alone. Only now, with you, I can see he doesn't have that same loneliness any longer. It's just like I said to you at his birthday, you are a gift to him and his parents would have loved you."

Pepper didn't have the right words to express how touched she was at Teresa's sentiments besides for thanking her and agreeing with her and trying to change the subject to something happier. "Even though I see all the pictures around, it's very hard for me to imagine Tony as a little boy running around here," Pepper started to say before getting distracted by footsteps coming down the stairs.

"I said nine o'clock and I meant it," Tony ground out into his cell phone as he came down the stairs in just his swim trunks. "I am paying you nearly double your usual asking rate so I expect to get what I want," he growled out before snapping his phone shut and noticing he had an audience watching him. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked as his gaze shifted between the two women staring at him.

"No, no not at all," Teresa laughed as she handed a coffee mug to Tony. "I was just reminded of your father and how he was not allowed to conduct any business whatsoever before three of those," she laughed as she tapped the mug in his hand.

Pepper got up from her stool to give Tony a kiss, gently placing her hand over the reactor in his chest and her eyes giving him a silent question – isn't this supposed to be hidden?

"Teresa knows about it," Tony answered aloud. "She and Edwin are like you and Rhodey to me. But your hands are still smaller than hers," he added with a smirk as he sipped his coffee.

Pepper shot him a dirty look over her coffee before changing the subject. "Do we have any plans for today since you have seemingly set everything up so far?"

Tony nodded with a devilish smirk on his face. "You are going to get changed into some cute little bikini and then we are spending the day on that beach out there. Besides for that…that is for me to know and you to enjoy when I let you know," he said smugly. "Now, you're the one wasting daylight here for once and not me. Do I need to set off some explosion under that cute tail of yours?"

Pepper finished off her coffee and sighed as she went back upstairs. "I am only going because I know you well enough that you may not be joking with the explosion."

Tony laughed as he flopped down on the couch with the newspaper. Maybe she did know him too well?

After Pepper got changed into her swimsuit, they hit the beach at Tony's insistence. The beach attached to the property had two parts, the private part with a small blue cabana that could be closed off in an alcove, respected through an unwritten rule of the town, and the public part which was open to everyone by the water. Just after Pepper had settled in the shade of the cabana with a book, Tony tossed her book aside, picked her up and playfully threw her into the 70 degree Atlantic Ocean despite her many protests.

Over the next few hours, the seemingly inconspicuous pair swam, took in the sun and relaxed without a care in the world. Pepper easily understood now why Tony liked this house so much. Just from what she saw on this one day, she knew here he was not TONY STARK – the celebrity. Here, he was just Tony.

By the time lunchtime had come around, Teresa persuaded Tony back to the back deck for food with the promise that he could attempt the barbecue later on as long as a fire extinguisher was handy. Teresa confided in Pepper that those stipulations go all the way back to Howard when he nearly set the house on fire one year when a picnic got out of hand.

After lunch though, Tony took advantage of the emptiness of the beach. He closed off the rest of the cabana with Pepper and had a little fun untying the straps of her bikini. By the time they had reopened the cabana, it was near dinner time and a few campfires and impromptu parties had sprung up on the beach for the Fourth.

By the time 8:30 had rolled around, many were settling on the beach with blankets to watch the fireworks. Tony had managed to dig up an old quilt from the house which he set down just at the opening between his private part of the beach and the public one.

"At least you didn't nearly set the house on fire," Pepper said with a laugh as she finished up her dinner and sat between Tony's legs, leaning up against him.

"Teresa exaggerates that," Tony corrected her. "My dad just had uneven eyebrows for a few months because he didn't think the flame was high enough so he added lighter fluid."

"And your mother had no problem with you two making your own fireworks?" Pepper questioned.

"She didn't like it much but figured if the government trusted my father to make nuclear warheads, small fireworks were the least she could allow him to do," Tony laughed.

"How small, Tony?"

Tony didn't answer right away. He was searching for the right way to say it. "Let's just say we got calls from Manhattan saying that some of them conflicted with Macy's."

"Did you have anything to do with the fireworks that we are seeing tonight?" Pepper asked warily as large barge was spotted on the ocean.

Tony smiled to himself. "Why do you think there are so many people out here?" he asked back as the first boom went off. "Stark fireworks started to become legendary after a while and I guess a few people heard I was in town," he said as he leaned back. "Now shut up and enjoy…I went through a lot of work for these."

Pepper for once immediately shut up and marveled at the brilliantly colorful displays of pyrotechnics. Fountains and cascades, flowers and geometric shapes and flaming little bugs lit up the night sky all along the coastline and when the last ash fell into the ocean, Tony and Pepper made their own fireworks back in the house.

With some coffee and freshly baked muffins for the road, Tony was driving Pepper to the marina where part of the Stark fleet of yachts were anchored for a morning sail and some deep sea fishing. Now the Stark family fleet consisted of three vessels at the moment, all of equal luxury and size, with a rumored fourth in construction. The first was the _Amelia Star_, belonged to Howard Stark, Sr., Tony's grandfather and it was named for his grandmother. The second came from the other side of the family, Edward Carbonell, his maternal grandfather, the _Bella Francesca_. The third was once Howard's, the _Bella Maria_. Tony of course has two of his own in Malibu, the _Alpha_ and the _Mercy_, but not the family ship yet.

Taking out the _Bella Maria _into the Atlantic was a well intentioned plan but not very successful trip fishing wise. Only one decent sized fish was landed, a bluefish by Pepper, and the rest were barely more than bait.

By late afternoon, Tony and Pepper were back on the plane to head back to California. Not long after take off, Tony had stretched out in his seat and started snoring while Pepper looked over silently and smiled as she moved the sapphire ring he gave her on his birthday from her right hand to her left.


	6. Pepper's Birthday

Since Pepper moved into the mansion in April as part of Tony's birthday present, they had managed to fall into a comfortable routine with each other over the last five months. During the weekdays, Pepper would by habit rise no later than six in the morning and sort through the days various communications and schedules before going to wake Tony up one hour and fifteen minutes before he had to leave for work because even one minute more than that would give Tony just enough leeway to try to lure her back into bed for at least a quickie before work if not more. Needless to say, sometimes they were both late to work. Weekends though were a different story. Though quite free to do as they wished separately, they were usually spent together if Tony was not called off on some mission somewhere or did not have a previous commitment that could not weasel out of except for Sundays. On Sundays, Tony was typically awake strangely early for him and he was usually found in his workshop working on his much neglected cars since Iron Man came along. Normally, Pepper had absolutely no problem with this. Tony being occupied with his cars or anything else he was tinkering with allowed her a day of peace for herself as well. This Sunday was different though. This Sunday was September 27th and Pepper's birthday and for once she hoped that Tony would remember.

Pepper awoke on this particular sunny Sunday morning and nothing seemed different than usual. She knew that Tony was already down in the workshop because she heard the muted sounds of hard rock seeping through the house. The smell of the pot of coffee that Tony had consumed had long since faded by the time Pepper had gotten up and gotten showered and dressed. As she started a fresh one, she took the chance to look around for any clues that Tony had remembered exactly what day it was. No card. No gifts. Not even a vase of flowers. The only thing that seemed out of place was that Tony's wallet was left on the kitchen counter instead of on his desk in the workshop where he usually threw it. Was this his way of wishing her a Happy Birthday? Have her take a card and buy herself something nice like he had always done? If it was, one Anthony Stark was going to have hell to pay for this one.

Pepper picked up the black leather wallet and stormed down to the workshop, automatically turning down the music as she punched in her key code for access.

"Please don't turn my music down," Tony called back absently from under one of his cars as he changed the oil.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Pepper spat furiously.

"Is what an idea of a joke?" Tony asked, honestly not knowing what Pepper was talking about.

"Tony, do you have any idea what day it is?"

Tony paused for a moment and thought about it. "Sunday," he responded. "You like going shopping or hitting the spa on Sunday so I left my wallet out for you to abuse if you want to."

Pepper's head was spinning in anger at the moment. "What is today's date, Tony?" she spat.

Tony paused again. "Don't know. Am I supposed to?" Tony asked as he pushed out from under the car, covered in grease and oil from head to toe.

Pepper just looked down at the floor to the grime covered mess that was supposed to be the man that loved her and she just wanted to explode with anger. "No Tony. Why would I ever expect you to remember a date?" she ground out angrily at him before heading upstairs to replace his wallet to where she found it except for his MasterCard, Visa and American Express cards. If he wanted her to abuse his credit cards, that was exactly what Pepper was going to do…up and down Rodeo Drive.

As soon as Tony heard the slam of the front door, he pulled out his cell phone with a smile and hit the speed dial. "Hey Rhodey, come on over. I need your help with something big."

Several hours later and two trips in which Happy was sent back to the mansion with armloads of bags, Pepper was sipping an iced latte at a small café with the last ten of her own personal boost of the Beverly Hills economy when her BlackBerry buzzed, signaling she had a text message. She had a very good idea who it would be from and she was still fuming with him and his inability to remember her birthday after years. Pepper picked up her BlackBerry and sighed when she saw the ID. "I knew it was you," she whispered to herself as she opened the message.

_Fury called – off to bag the bad guys in the sand. Hope to see you tonight – love Tony._

Pepper's anger abated just a bit as she read the message again. Him going on a mission meant that she could go back to the mansion without having to deal with Tony yet and his forgetfulness but it also meant that despite the fact that she was mad at him, Pepper was going to worry about Tony's safety until he came back home.

It was getting dark by the time Happy had dropped Pepper back off at the mansion and she was not surprised to find all the windows dark since Tony was not home. She opened the front door; set her bags down inside with the others, dismissed Happy for the night and then noticed something wasn't quite as it should be. All the lights were off save for a fire burning in the fireplace. Tony would have never left a fire burning if he was going on a mission. Pepper stepped further in to see how the soft glow illuminated the room and her breath caught in her throat. A dozen red roses sat in a crystal vase on the table. Gold and silver streamers decorated the dining room with a dozen multi-colored metallic balloons tied to her chair while the table was set with the best china. A card was placed on the couch next to a small pile of gold and red wrapped presents. Pepper sat down on the couch and slowly picked up the card with her name scribbled on it in very messy handwriting.

"I figured you needed something akin to a black tie affair for a proper birthday."

Pepper looked up at the sound of his voice and saw Tony leaning against the wall next to the stair case in his tuxedo. She hadn't even heard him come in as she started to open her card. "I thought you had forgotten," Pepper whispered, still in shock at what she had come home to.

Tony shook his head and crossed the room to sit next to her. "For one reason that I would like to put out of my mind, I can't forget your birthday ever again. Besides for that, the truth is that I didn't forget that today was your birthday. I have been planning this for months and I know it won't run as smooth as a Pepper Potts Production but I called in the troops and did my best to make up for about ten years of forgetting," he told her from the heart. "I know this is your birthday and all and you should get to pick what order you want to do everything but there is one gift that I don't want to wait any longer to give you," Tony said as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box and opened it up to reveal a gold ring with three diamonds, the middle slightly larger than the ones on the side. "Will you marry me?"

Pepper looked at the ring and then up at Tony. "Are you serious about this?" she gasped.

"I have never been more serious about anything in my life." Tony affirmed calmly even though his stomach was starting to do flip flops at the thought that she might actually say no.

Pepper was still not fully wrapping her head around the whole situation so the obvious answer was not coming out of her mouth. "How long have you had this?"

Tony didn't answer immediately but his eyes went down towards the ring as he quietly replied. "About eighteen years."

"Eighteen years?" Pepper exclaimed before he brain clicked into gear and realized what she had just said. "You mean…this ring…belonged to…"

"My mother? Yes." Tony finished for her. "And it belonged to my grandmother before that."

"Tony, are you sure about this?" Pepper asked once more.

"I told you before that I have never been surer about something in my life. Why wouldn't I want to give my mother's ring to the woman I love more than life itself to ask her to be my wife?" Tony stated with conviction. "Virginia Potts, will you marry me?"

Pepper nodded as she held out her hand to Tony. "Absolutely…yes."

Tony smiled as he slipped the ring on her finger before stealing a kiss from her lips. "I was almost having a heart attack that you were about to say no. Now, Rhodey and I worked our asses off to give you a proper party and we're going to enjoy it."

Hours later, Pepper lay in their bed admiring the ring but one thing could still not get out of her head. Even though it had all been a ploy to get her out of the house so he could set up the party, Tony had seemingly forgotten her birthday again. She knew she shouldn't be angry about it but deep down it did anger her and she had to let it out.

Tony came in not long after actually cleaning up the last of the party and slid under the blankets next to Pepper, hoping for a little post-party fun to close out the evening. As he moved in to initiate with a kiss, he got an unexpected surprise – a sharp fist to the nose. "What the hell was that for?" he ground out as his eyes teared up and his nose started bleeding.

"For pretending that you forgot my birthday again." Pepper snapped. "Don't you ever treat me like that again or I will hurt you so much worse that this."

"Understood. By why did you have to pop me?" Tony asked as he tried to refocus his eyes.

"So you don't forget." Pepper affirmed as she gently moved Tony's hands away from his nose to see how much damage she did. She smiled when she only saw a little blood. "Now, let me make it up to you."


	7. End of the Year

In the months after Pepper's birthday and Tony's proposal, Pepper had more on her plate than ever. In addition to running Tony's normal schedule, running interference for Iron Man and attempting to plan a wedding. One thing though kept everything from running smoothly, Tony's refusal to clearly answer one question…an agreed on date for the wedding. Pepper had tried to hint at the question through October, even as she planned Tony's favorite charity fundraiser, the Stark Masquerade Ball for Halloween. His only answer was soon but no further elaboration. As it got further into November, Pepper remembered something Tony had said last Christmas. In the midst of his emotional turmoil, he had told her that he and his parents had always spent from Thanksgiving until New Year's in New York. She thought that if he would be willing to accept an old family tradition, he may be willing to be clearer about starting their new family.

Pepper started to put her plan into action on a particularly cold and rainy morning. Tony had gotten back from overseas in the early morning hours so she opted to let him sleep in. When she finally heard him moving around, she decided to bait him slightly with caffeine and food as she tried to make him a bit more pliable.

Coming down the stairs with a cup of coffee and a few slices of toast balanced in one hand, Pepper typed in her code to his workshop and habitually turned down his music.

"You know I don't like when you do that," Tony called out from underneath one of his cars.

"Yes, I know but it's a habit that's hard to break," Pepper said warmly as she set the coffee and toast down on his desk within smelling distance. "I was just looking at the calendar and noticed that Thanksgiving was coming up."

"I thought you usually had these things booked like months in advance," Tony quipped from under the car. "I guess I must be finally rubbing off on you."

Pepper laughed softly at his statement. He may have actually been right but she wasn't about to tell him that. "I was thinking of doing something a little different this year instead of the usual hotel banquet," she started off. "I was actually thinking of going to New York for the holidays."

This statement actually caught Tony's attention enough to come out from under the car. "What are you talking about Pepper?"

Pepper took a deep breath. Spitting this out was going to be hard. "Last Christmas, I remembered that you had said that you and your parents had spent every Thanksgiving until New Year's in New York. I thought it would be a good idea to get away from California for a little while…just the two of us."

Tony was trying to process what she was saying to make sure he was hearing this right. "Let me make sure I heard you correctly," he started as he stood up, wiping the grease off of his hands as he walked up to her. "You want to go to New York for the holidays and potentially do all the crap that goes along with it such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, Rockefeller center tree lighting and ice skating and New Year's in Times Square?"

Pepper was a bit taken back at first at how quickly Tony had shot those words out of his mouth. What was she getting herself into? "I was actually thinking of a more quiet time at the house on Long Island but I am sure we can fit in a few other things."

Tony thought about it for a moment and shrugged. "I guess a two month vacation couldn't hurt much. When do you want to go?"

"I never said anything about a vacation, Tony. You do have a company to run and you do have a New York office." Pepper corrected him.

Tony groaned loudly in disgust but didn't fight her. "Then we are bringing Happy because that commute completely sucks."

Within two short days and a quick call to Teresa, Tony and Pepper had made it from west coast to east coast seamlessly. Pepper had even managed to set Tony on a schedule without the instant help of Jarvis. Begrudgingly, Tony went to work with the ninety minute commute every morning at Pepper's request but he did enjoy scaring the hell out of the New York office which almost never saw him. It was on one of these long morning commutes which Pepper tried to illicit the next part of her plan.

On the drive in from Long Island, Tony would take advantage of the fact that Happy was driving so he could sleep since he truly hated New York hours. While he was half in and out of consciousness, Pepper decided to try to press him to try to set a date once more, hoping his defenses would be down.

"Tony, we need to talk," Pepper started rather sweetly.

"Hmm?" Tony grunted as he shifted in his seat to get more comfortable without opening his eyes.

"We need to set a date, Tony." Pepper stated plainly. "If we don't set a date, no one will believe that we are actually getting married."

"December 31st," Tony mumbled.

Pepper was a bit taken back at first at how easily that came out. "It's not a long time but I can organize something in a year."

"Not a year from now," Tony corrected as he opened his eyes and turned his head so he was looking at her. "This year."

"This year? That's only six weeks away. I can't pull together a whole wedding in six weeks." Pepper exclaimed.

"I don't want a big wedding. I just want to marry you." Tony stated with utmost clarity.

Pepper just looked at him stunned and her look seemed to wordlessly ask for an explanation.

"I know this doesn't sound like me but let me explain," Tony started. "A big celebrity wedding, which is what it would end up being, is just a magnet for paparazzi and that is something I have no desire to deal with on a day important as this. I have actually been thinking about this for a while and maybe it was just a coincidence that you wanted to come to Long Island this year but getting married in city hall suits me just fine and we can celebrate on our own in the city and watch the ball drop in Times Square."

"I have to admit that I really wasn't expecting this. How did you manage to wrap your head around this idea?" Pepper asked with curiosity as he was seriously convincing her that they could get married in six weeks.

"One, considering you sort of asked me out on New Year's Eve last year it was one thing to keep the date and number two is kind of the bigger one…my parents were married there." Tony admitted.

That was the deal closer and Pepper understood everything. "Fine Tony, we'll get married on New Year's Eve."

After the discussion of the wedding date, time seemed to pass by so quickly. Thanksgiving came and went without a hitch with Teresa cooking for it. Starting on Black Friday, Pepper did her own personal part to stimulate the local economy with her overly generous Christmas shopping. Everything was going along swimmingly and peaceful until December 16th rolled around.

On the evening of the sixteenth, the snow started to fall on what would become one of the several massive snow falls that hit the east coast. It was coming down fast and furious and quickly closed not only airports but roads as well. For most people on the eastern seaboard, this meant a few days inside with hot chocolate and a DVD collection to pass the time but this was almost catastrophic for Tony. December 17th was the anniversary of his parents' deaths and once again he was not going to be able to keep up a promise he had made to himself on that day in 1991 when they were laid to rest – to visit them every year on that day.

In anticipation of the storm, Tony had closed Stark Industries in Manhattan to keep anyone who did not need to be on the roads out of harms way but not working in someway allowed his mind to focus on what day it was and one thought drove him – he had to get back to California. Before all of Long Island completely shut down, Tony was on the phone with everyone shy of the governor to try to get clearance to get his plane out of JFK to get to Los Angeles but was hit with the damned snow from every direction and it down right pissed him off, so much so that after the last 'no,' Tony threw his cell phone against one of the walls and it shattered into hundreds of pieces.

While the screaming eruption had been going on, Pepper had tried to stay out of Tony's way. She knew his temper well enough and knew damn well to avoid it unless absolutely necessary. When she heard the phone shatter against the wall, it had then become necessary to approach. "Do I dare ask what that was all about?" she asked cautiously.

At the sound of her voice, Tony whipped his head around with a white hot fury blazing in his eyes. "This was all your idea and this is nearly ending up like last year," he snapped at her.

Pepper held up her hands in defense as she tried to decipher what he was going on about. "Tony, you're not making any sense here. What did I do and how is this like last year?"

"I missed it last year and now it's going to happen again because of this goddamned New York weather. This was all your idea." Tony snapped as he started to reach for his keys.

Pepper grabbed his wrist before he could get his hands on his keys and forced him to look at her. "Last year I had nothing to do with that. I distinctly remember Iron Man being somewhere over Pakistan on this date and being distinctly unreachable which sent me into panic mode because I know how you are on this date. Now where in hell do you think you're going in this blizzard?"

"Where the hell do you think I'm going?" Tony snapped back as he pulled his wrist from her grip and grabbed his keys.

"You sure aren't driving anywhere in this weather." Pepper countered.

"Who said anything about driving?" Tony countered back.

Pepper was only confused about that statement for about a millisecond before everything hit her like a ton of bricks. "You are not taking the suit out in a damn blizzard!"

"I've flown through a hell of a lot worse!" Tony roared as he tried to pull away once more.

"This is not icing because of altitude, Tony. There is a reason why they close the airports in weather like this! Now, stop talking like this. You're not making any sense." Pepper shot back.

Pepper was right but Tony was too furious and determined to see it. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't leave right now…" he threw down as an ultimatum, challenging her will against his as the lights in the house started to flicker.

"Me." Pepper stated simply. "All we have is each other and in two weeks we will be married. You once asked me to do something which could have potentially killed you and I did it despite that fact. I am not letting you willingly take your life into your hands when you can't handle something. I can deal with Iron Man when it's necessary but not when you get in the suit to get away from me or because you don't like the way life is treating you at the moment. Now, you know damn well that I am always here for you but I am here for you but right now I am going to be blunt with you. You need to handle your emotions a little better because sitting by watching you be self-destructive either with a bottle or a tin can body suit is not something I want to willingly do again. Now, put down the keys and talk to me and let me in."

As the wind howled more outside and the lights finally went out, leaving only the fireplace to illuminate the room, Pepper's words cut right through Tony as his hand slowly moved away from his keys. He swallowed hard as he slowly looked around the room and his eyes glassed over as a flood of memories hit him like a 1000 Jericho missiles. "The house is supposed to be decorated," Tony whispered as his breath hitched.

Pepper had barely heard what he had said but when it registered, she remembered the story he had told her last Christmas. She remembered that he had gone back to New York after the funeral for the holidays and the house had already been decorated for a party that wasn't going to happen. Instead, his parents' house resembled his mansion – devoid of anything related to the holidays. Aside from the snow, it eerily resembled the way Pepper had found him last year on Christmas Eve when he had sent her away. "We can do that if you want," Pepper told him gently as she took Tony's hand and led him away from the door and towards the couch in front of the fire. "You didn't tell me where they were."

"Attic…" Tony whispered as he let out a shaky breath as it further hit him at what he almost did. He glanced out at the snow as he sat down and the fire light didn't hide the few tear that had escaped his control. "I'm so sorry," he whispered as he stared into the fire, not having the strength to look Pepper in the eye yet.

"Sorry for what?" Pepper gently prodded. She wanted him to talk to her but she knew she would need to nudge him a bit.

"First," Tony started as he harshly wiped the tears away, "for being a total ass and completely losing grip with reality. Second, for not really knowing how to handle this time of year especially since I shot myself in the ass the past two years."

"What are you getting at, Tony?"

"I love you…more than life itself and you know that," Tony explained. "I know that we are starting our own family soon and any traditions that go along with it but I really don't want one of them to be me being a total basket case every December. I don't want to forget them, Pepper, but I don't want it to hurt either."

"I think we'll be able to work it out together. We have so far." Pepper said as she pulled the quilt she made for him last year off the back of the couch and draped it over them. "Tony, just one question, given what I know of your father and you, why doesn't this house have a generator?"

Tony had to laugh a little at the comment. "What? You don't like the romantic atmosphere?"

"It's not that but…"

"You want to know if you'll be able to check your email and everything else." Tony said with a smirk. "Crackberry just won't do it for you?"

Pepper's cheeks flushed a shade of pink that was even visible by firelight.

Tony laughed. "If you listen, the house DOES have a generator. The fridge, the heat…everything has power. Just flip the switch." He stated as he gestured to the lamp on the table next to them.

Pepper sighed and turned on the lamp and then playfully punched Tony in the arm. "You should be glad I love you or I'd be making you shovel that two feet of snow that's predicted when this stops."

"I figured as such," Tony said. "That's why I already hired someone."

After the snow day fiasco, Christmas flew by in no time and December 31st was knocking on the door. The morning of New Year's Eve was a dreary one with freezing drizzle mixed with light snow. Pepper took advantage of it being dark on winter mornings and snuck out of the house and over to Teresa's well before the earliest time Tony would consider getting up to avoid seeing each other on the day of the wedding. She did have one concern lingering in the back of her mind…would Tony actually remember to get up, get ready and get to their wedding on time without her personally reminding him in addition to all the digital reminders she set up on his cell phone, email, etc.

In the end, Pepper really didn't need to worry because reinforcements were arriving without her knowledge.

The cab pulled into the long driveway before eight o'clock in the morning. The passenger paid the outrageous fare from JFK to the Hamptons, grabbed his one bag, closed the door and walked up the rest of the slippery slope and pounded on the door as loud as he possibly could.

Tony groaned and pulled his pillows over his head when he heard the pounding on his front door. When the pounding wouldn't stop, he peeked out from the blankets he had buried himself under and let out a solid stream of curses wondering why someone would be pounding on his door at 7:55 AM before screaming out for Jarvis to get the door. It was when he was greeted with a muffled "Tony! Get the hell out of bed and open the damn door!" instead of a polite succinct reply from his AI that Tony begrudgingly pulled himself from his warm blankets and went downstairs in his MIT sweatshirt and flannel pajama pants to potentially kill whoever thought it was funny to get him up so early.

Tony peeked out the windows and sighed. Only Rhodey would have taken the damned red eye to get to New York. "Your arms tired, Platypus?" he said through a yawn as he opened up the door to let in his somewhat irate friend.

"I was under the impression that my billionaire best friend was going to be picking me up at the airport instead of making me fork out $200 for a cab ride out to Long Island on government pay. Care to explain?" Rhodey pounded out as he brushed the snow off of his coat and set his bag down on the floor in front of Tony.

"You're here now so what's the difference?" Tony yawned out as he stepped back from the snow that Rhodey was trying to brush on him.

"Two hundred dollars is what the difference is," Rhodey countered as he held his hand out.

Tony got out his wallet and put two nice pictures of Ben Franklin in Rhodey's hand and changed the subject as he poured himself some coffee. "Thanks for doing this. It means a lot to me."

"Man, I wouldn't miss this for the world. Wonder how much being the only eye witness to Tony Stark's wedding could get me from the tabloids?" Rhodey joked.

"Two black eyes and a split lip from the groom to begin with." Tony added as he shoved a mug of coffee into Rhodey's hands.

"I was just kidding," Rhodey countered defensively. "I don't want you to get your toys out."

Over the course of the morning, Rhodey even managed to impress himself and silently gave Pepper a lot of credit for what she did. After a few distractionary rounds of _Call of Duty_ on the 360, Rhodey wrangled Tony together and made him get showered and dressed while getting ready himself and he got them both, with Happy's help with the driving, to city hall a half an hour before the ceremony was supposed to start. Tony was just starting to get antsy when Pepper came in with Teresa.

Given their less than traditional ceremony and abbreviated planning time, Tony didn't expect a wedding gown but something that complimented the sharp black Versace suit that he wore and Pepper nailed it. She wore a tailored white silk wrap around blouse, black silk pencil skirt and a red rose corsage pinned to her blouse.

"You look beautiful," Tony mouthed to her as she stepped up next to him in front of the judge that was going to marry them.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join in matrimony Anthony Edward Stark and Virginia Potts. Do you, Anthony, take Virginia to be your lawfully wedded wife? Will you promise to love, honor and cherish her and forsake all others for as long as you both shall live?"

"I will," Tony answered without hesitation.

"Do you, Virginia, take Anthony to be your lawfully wedded husband? Will you promise to love, honor and cherish him and forsake all others for as long as you both shall live?"

"I will." Pepper answered quickly, showing a little bit of the nerves she was trying to hide.

The judge then looked to Rhodey. "The rings?"

Rhodey pulled out the velvet box out of his pocket and handed it to the judge. Pepper's ring was three intertwined circles of pink, yellow, and white gold that was studded with diamonds. Tony's was a simple platinum band – classic but expensive. The judge first handed Pepper's ring to Tony. "Repeat after me. Take this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity."

Tony slipped the ring on Pepper's finger. "Take this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity."

The judge then gave Tony's to Pepper. "Repeat after me. Take this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity."

Pepper slipped the ring on Tony's finger with a little effort because his hands were sweating. "Take this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity."

"In the presence of this company these two people have exchanged vows and rings and it is my pleasure by the power vested in me by the State of New York to pronounce these two to be husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

"It's about time we got to that part." Tony said smartly before kissing Pepper tenderly on the lips.

After everything was all signed and legal, Tony, Pepper and Rhodey jumped into the back of the limo for Happy to drive them into New York for the second part of the celebration. The four of them shared a quiet celebratory dinner at the Trattoria Dopo Teatro as the revelers started gathering outside in Times Square for the end of the year party. After dinner, Tony had paid for Rhodey and Happy to stay in the New York Marriott Marquis so they didn't have to drive back to the Island on the craziest night of the year.

After saying their goodbyes, Tony and Pepper headed up to the Presidential Suite of New York Marriott Marquis to start their honeymoon and get a first class view of the ball drop. As Tony watched the party forty-nine floors down, Pepper slipped into the master bedroom to slip into something a little more enticing for Tony. Within moments, she silently crept up behind Tony and covered his eyes from behind to get his attention.

The simple gesture was enough of a distraction for Tony to get him to turn around and nearly stop breathing. He actually had to take a step back to admire Pepper in a red and black lace halter negligee that left very little to the imagination. "Right now, I'm glad I have had a lot of practice and endurance tests with women because that ensemble alone would kill any normal man."

Pepper smiled as she snaked her arms around Tony's neck and kissed him deeply as the crowd below started counting down to the New Year. "So what gift are you going to give me for next year, Iron Man?"

"How about the New Year's baby?"

finito


End file.
